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F  ANKWEI; 


THE    SAN  JACINTO  IN  THE  SEAS 


OF 


INDIA,    CHINA    AND    JAPAN 


BY 


\/ 


WILLIAM  MAXWELL  WOOD,  M.  D.,  U.  S.  K, 

I.ATB  BUEGEON   OF  THE  FLEET  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES  EAST  INDIA  SQUADRON  ; 

AUTHOR  OF   "  WANDERING   SKETCHES   IN   SOUTH   AMERICA,  POLYNESIA," 

ETC.;   "a  SHOULDER  TO  THE  WHEEL  OP  PROGRESS,"   ETC. 


NEW    YOKE: 
HARPER    &    BROTHERS, 

FKANKLIN    SQUARE. 
1859. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1S59,  by 

HARPEE    &    BROTHEES, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office,  of  the  District  Court,  for  the  Southern  District  of 

Nevr  York, 


DS 


THE  HOS.  THOMAS  CAESOS, 

OP  MEEOEESBTTEaH,   PESTN'STLVANIA, 

This  book  was  dedicated  in  life,  as  an  offering  of  respect  for  one  of  -whom  tUe 
following  has  heen  publicly  said : 

"  His  sterling  integrity  and  uniform  fidelity  to  all  official  duties  intrusted  to 
him,  stamp  bim  as  one  of  the  few  public  men  in  our  commonwealth  who  are  proof 
against  all  the  seductive  influences  of  public  life. 

"  One  whose  large  abilities  and  clear  perceptions  are  overshadowed  by  his  mod- 
est demeanor  and  freedom  from  the  arts  of  the  popular  politician." 

Under  that  more  noble  title  which  he  won  amongst  men,  and  which  will  servo 
him  better  in  the  world  "of  the  hereafter"  to  which  he  has  passed,  it  is  now  in- 
scribed to  the  memory  of 

"HONEST  TOM  CARSON." 


732205 


A  FEW  FIRST  WORDS  WITH  THE  READER. 


The  sunsets  on  our  great  lakes  are  peculiarly  beautiful,  and 
scarcely  a  bright  day  closes  into  evening  without  attracting  admi- 
ration by  its  varied  pictures  of  colored  and  gilded  cloud-scenes. 
As  I  have  looked  upon  them  with  a  group  of  friends,  each  one 
beholds  scenes  unnoticed  or  unrecognized  by  others.  Some  see 
human  figures  in  forms  which  are  to  others  those  of  grotesque 
animals;  and  what  to  one  may  be  burning  cities  or  embattled 
armies,  is  to  another  but  a  confused  and  unmeaning  cloud  mass. 

Thus  do  we  aU  see  differently  what  has  the  same  external  form, 
and  hence  a  reason  for  writiug  many  books  upon  even  frequently- 
described  countries  and  peoples.  It  is  not  the  ground  over  which 
the  traveler  goes  which  alone  appears  in  his  book,  but  the  indi- 
viduaUty  of  him  who  observes  it.  Each  prismatic  observer  pre- 
sents his  own  colored  ray  to  make  up  the  clear  beam  of  truth ; 
and  no  aggregate  description  of  multiplied  observers  will  make 
foreign  nations  accurately  acquainted  with  each  other,  even  when 
in  close  proximity,  or  derived  from  the  same  stock. 

There  is,  then,  room  for  my  gatherings  from  the  remote  regions 
respecting  which  I  write,  and  I  am  conscious  they  will  not  be 
missed  from  the  vast  mass  left  for  other  observers  and  future 
years. 

In  addition  to  this  justification  for  presenting  the  public  with 
the  present  volume,  I  have  been  for  thirty  years  by  necessity  of 
position  an  observer  in  an  important  national  institution,  with  its 
own  peculiar  usages  and  internal  politics.  It  has  been  my  convic- 
tion, from  an  early  period,  that  this  institution,  in  its  organic  struc- 
ture, was  not  in  harmony  with  our  national  character ;  not  a 
natural  emanation  from  it,  but  a  graft  from  a  morbid  outgrowth 
of  systems  we  have  rejected  as  wrong  in  themselves  or  inappli- 
cable to  us.     The  only  reform  wliich  has  yet  taken  place  in  the 


VI      A    FEW    FIRST    "WORDS    WITH    THE    READER. 

Navy  lias  been  tlie  spasmodic  relief  of  a  temporary  and  press- 
ing necessity.  No  active  principle  of  a  self-acting  and  permanent 
character  has  yet  been  introduced.  Conservatism,  which  in  gen- 
eral socjpty  is  but  a  healthy  regulator  of  progress,  becomes,  in  a 
hmited  military  institution,  an  institution  of  rules  and  precedents, 
an  immovable  and  enormous  mass  of  dead  weight ;  and  it  is  not 
surprising  that  the  individual  representatives  of  this  quality  should 
think  that  reform  was  sending  the  whole  Navy  to  that  being  who 
was  so  early  and  so  eflfectively  busy  in  Eden,  and  who  may  per- 
haps be  found  in  our  establishment,  especially  if  he  is  correctly 
described  as  one 

"  On  whose  nature 
Nurture  can  never  stick ;  on  whom  all  pains 
Humanely  taken,  all,  all  quite  lost ; 
And  as  with  age  his  body  uglier  grows, 
So  his  mind  cankers." 

As  one  party  is  so  desirous  of  keeping  the  Navy  from  going  to 
him,  and  the  other  of  getting  him  out  of  it,  there  is  hope  that  so 
wholesome  a  rivalry,  shared  equally  by  each,  will  secure  his  final 
discomfiture. 

Most  of  the  time  of  these  travels  was  among  that  people  who, 
claiming  to  be  Celestial  themselves,  regard  every  Western  as  a 
Fankwei,  or  "  foreign  devil." 

As  Fankwei  and  Celestial  we  saw  each  other,  and  as  Fankwei 
I  tell  the  story. 


CONTENTS. 


*-*-¥ 

FA6Z 

Dedicatiojt iii 

A  Fevt  FmsT  "Words  with  the  Eeader.. v 

THE    VOYAaE    OUT. 

I. — On  Board  axd  Off 11 

IL— Cloth IG 

ni.— Slush 23 

IV.— Madeira 27 

v.— Wine 3G 

VI. — Cinders  and  Lava 41 

VIL— TVater 57 

VIII.— Simon's  Bat 69 

IX. — ^WiNE  ANT)  "Welcome 87 

,     X. — Mauritius 95 

XI.— Ceylon 104 

XII. — The  Gem  op  the  Indies 122 

Xin. — Singapore  142 

SIAM    AND     THE    SIAMESE. 

XIV. — Kingdom  of  the  White  Elephant 149 

XV. — The  White  Elephant  at  Home 159 

X"7I. — Siamese  and  Christian  Nobles 185 

XVII. — Diplomacy  Inaugurated 197 

XVIII. — Buddhism 222 

XIX. — Diplomacy  ;  the  Harem  in  the  Hall 229 

XX. — Royal  Siamese  Literature 245 

XXL — Ak  Uncommon  Commoner 254 


Vm  CONTENTS, 


IN     CHINA. 

PAGE 

XXII— noNO  KOXG 2G3 

XXIII. — CxVNTON,  THE  City  of  Rams 273 

XXIV. — Macao,  the  City  of  Camoens 287 

XXV. — A  Look  at  Japan 295 

XXVI— Shanghae 320 

XXVII. — SlIANGHAE 337 

XXVIII. — Marriage  and  Funeral  Debate 351 

XXIX.— Sik-A-Wa 359 

XXX — Sedan  Chaies 365 

XXXI. — The  Ameeic.vn  Eagle  in  Shanghae 371 

XXXII. — Soo-CHAu,  THE  Paris  of  China 383 

XXXIII. — Battle  and  Blood 415 

XXXIV.— Pen,  Pencil  and  Po-«T)Er 435 

XXXV. — Ruined  Castles 456 

XXXVL— The  Reign  of  Terror 469 

XXXVn.— The  Heavenly  Prince 509 

XXXVIII. — CoMiiERCE,  Christianity  and  Opium 518 

XXXIX.— Getting  On 529 


F  A  N  K  W  E  I. 


I. 


THE    VOYAGE    OUT. 


THE    VOYAGE    OUT. 


I. 

ON     BOARD     AND     OFF. 

It  was  a  murky  October  evening  as  my  friend  and  I 
stood  at  the  foot  of  that  great  thoroughfare,  which  is  at 
once  the  pride  and  the  nuisance  of  New  York.  Our  part- 
ing words  were  sjioken  to  the  sulky  dashing  of  the  waves 
against  the  shores  of  the  "  Battery." 

"A  pleasant  cruise — an  interesting  cruise — you  are 
going  to  have,"  were  his  words  as  we  shook  hands  and 
said  "  Good-bye." 

A  pleasant  cruise  !  an  interesting  cruise !  They  were 
soft-sounding  words,  but  it  was  the  vinegar  upon  niter — 
the  singing  of  songs  to  a  heavy  heart. 

He  might  well  have  music  upon  his  tongue,  for  he 
turned  to  walk  up  that  broad,  bright  avenue,  whose 
myriad  lights  were  just  beginning  to  blaze  upon  the  in- 
creasing darkness,  and  his  day  would  close  amid  the  en- 
dearments of  home.  But  I,  with  a  number  of  small 
parcels,  the  last  gatherings  of  conveniences  for  shipboard 
existence,  stepped  into  a  small  boat,  and  with  a  few 
strokes  of  the  boatman's  oars,  we  shot  out  upon  the  dark 
waters,  and  I  had  left  the  shores  of  my  country  at  best 
for  years.      We  glided  through  the  ships,  heaving  and 


12  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

rolling  at  their  moorings,  and  in  a  few  minutes  I  and  my 
bundles  were  passed  up  the  sides  of  a  clumsy,  black-look- 
ing vessel,  with  a  smoke  stack  protruding  from  the  deck, 
and  guns  projecting  from  her  sides. 

It  was  once  more  a  shivering  plunge  into  the  ceremo- 
nies, the  restrictions,  the  petty  formalities,  and  mole-hiU 
mountain  jealousies  and  privileges — to  say  nothing  of  the 
physical  privations  —  of  man-of-war  life.  If  I  tell  the 
reader  what  these  are,  it  is  not  to  weary  him  with  un- 
happy complaints ;  but  to  deal  justly  by  him,  and  to  pre- 
sent him,  in  this  narrative,  not  only  with  the  scenes  before 
my  eyes,  but  also  with  the  spirit  which  looked  out  upon 
them,  and  to  show,  I  hope,  for  the  good  of  those  who 
come  after  me,  how  many  gratuitous  annoyances  are 
added  to  those  necessarily  incident  to  a  naval  life. 

To  ajipreciate  to  the  ftill  this  unnatm-al  existence,  one 
must  have  a  nature  which  leads  him  from  even  the  splen- 
did trammels  of  city  hfe,  must  have  formed  many  of  his 
habits  in  the  freedom  of  a  frontier  residence,  and  learned 
to  love  his  country,  not  alone  because  it  was  his  country, 
but  because  of  his  close  communion  with  its  inmost  nature. 
He  must  have  courted  that  nature's  varying  forms,  and 
true  to  its  beauty  alone,  have  been  won  by  the  attractions 
of  each  new  season  from  any  regrets  for  the  enjojTuents 
of  that  passing  away.  Welcoming  the  bursting  life  and 
budding  blossoms  of  spring,  he  yields  their  fresh  fra- 
gi'ance,  to  wander,  with  riper  affections,  amid  summer 
heats,  by  babbhng  brooks,  in  deep  forest  shades,  or  over 
fields  golden  in  the  setting  sun ; — and  wished  no  change 
untU  his  eye  caught  the  first  crimsoning  of  autumn's 
gorgeous  garment,  fluttering  on  the  forest's  edge.  Satia- 
ted with  rich  luxuriance  and  briLliant  hues,  he  reposes  in 
the  soft  languor  of  an  Indian  summer's  haze,  tmtil,  in 
the  bracing  an-  of  a  northern  sky,  brightly  arching  over 
the  snow-clad  earth,  in  the  sleep  of  nature,  human  ener- 


ON     BO  AED     AND      OFF.  13 

gies  and  activities  spring  into  new  life  and  yigor.  The 
crashing  forest  falls  beneath  the  woodman's  ax ;  the  full 
contents  of  barns  and  granaries  glide  on  smooth  runners, 
cumbrously  silent,  over  the  fi-ozen  roads;  while  the  jing- 
ling bells  of  sleighs  dashing  over  the  crisping  snow  are 
in  harmony  with  all  this  life  and  motion. 

With  evening  comes  the  gathering  from  the  sports 
and  labors  of  the  short  day ;  the  social  union  of  fiiend 
and  neighbor,  with  all  those  heart-interests  and  affections 
which  cluster  around  the  winter  evening's  fii-eside. 

"  What  should  gild  the  wheat  in  harvest, 
If  the  spring  endured  forever  ? 
HoTV  should  apples  in  the  garden 
Ripen  were  it  always  summer  ? 
How  should  wheat  sheaf  be  np-gathered 
If  there  were  no  time  but  autumn  ?" 

From  these  memories,  vividly  recalled,  the  transition 
was  to  oakum  and  bilge  water;  to  my  room,  dark, 
cramped  and  dreai-y;  six  feet  square,  broken  upon  by 
crooked  ship-ki^ees  and  heavy  beams.  Permissions  to  go 
and  orders  to  come,  given  by  strange  men  younger  than 
myself,  whom  I  never  saw  before  ;  my  hght  at  mid-day 
an  allowanced  candle,  and  that  blown  out  at  ten  o'clock 
at  night  by  an  humble  ship  official,  whether  I  would  or 
no.  A  booming  gun  and  the  reveille  of  a  rolling  drum 
awake  me  at  daylight,  and  the  same  sounds  tattoo  the 
closing  day. 

The  day  lowered  in  congenial  gloom,  the  wind  moaned 
and  sighed  through  the  rigging ;  a  cold,  drizzling  rain  of 
October  24,  1855,  baptized  my  first  day  on  board  the 
United  States  steam  frigate  San  Jacinto — ^the  besinninc: 
of  from  two  to  three  years  of  such  an  existence. 

I  sat  in  my  state-room.  It  was  the  Surgeon's  room — 
the  fourth  one — the  last  but  one  back  on  the  port  side. 


14  T  II  E     V  O  Y  A  G  E     O  U  T  . 

The  Chief  Engineer,  the  Master,  the  Purser,  were  all 
ahead  of  me,  although  in  age  and  sex'vice  I  was  by  much 
the  oldest  officer  in  that  mess ;  and,  except  the  command- 
er-iu-chief,  tlie  oldest  in  age  in  the  ship.  At  this  time  I  am 
in  my  thirtieth  year  of  service ;  and  twenty-nine  years  ago, 
as  acting  surgeon  of  a  sloop-of-war,  I  inhabited  the  sanle 
relative  cell.  Time  and  service  had  brought  no  change  of 
position,»of  jDrivileges,  of  physical  comfort  in  my  shipboard 
life.  I  was  worse  off:  then  there  were  youth  and  hope  to 
buoy  me  over  annoyances,  and  my  companions  were  of 
congenial  years ;  now  I  was  alone.  Those  of  my  original 
associates  who  were  left — and  they  were  but  few — as  cap- 
tains and  commodores  were  separated  from  me  by  duties, 
rank  and  distant  stations.  Of  the  occupants  of  the  nine 
state-rodms  besides  my  own,  all,  save  one,  were  strangers 
to  me.  The  difficulty  of  forming  social  intimacies  in- 
creases with  years ;  and  I  could  not  expect  the  tastes, 
sympathies  or  conversation  of  those  so  much  younger 
than  myself,  to  accord  with  my  own.  I  had  now  the 
high  sounding  title  of  the  "  Surgeon  of  the  Fleet,"  with 
its  real  duties  and  resi:)onsibilities,  but  this  was  simply  a 
gilded  cap  upon  my  head,  while  I  was  left  shivering  in 
the  tatters  of  the  old  garments  of  my  youth  and  more 
humble  jDOsition. 

Our  ship  was  fiUed  with  boxes  of  j)re8ents  for  the 
King  of  Siam.  Immense  mirrors,  large  chandeliers, 
clocks,  and  various  other  articles,  show  that  we  have 
some  designs  upon  the  good  will  of  their  Siamese  majes- 
ties. 

On  the  following  morning  the  outside  world  brightened 
up  a  Uttle ;  and  it  was  a  fine,  cold,  clear  October  morn- 
ing, when  we  passed  out  to  sea  through  all  the  beauties 
of  the  harbor  of  New  York,  Our  first  port  is  a  dead 
secret ;  because,  if  we  all  knew  that,  the  commanding 
officers  would  be  no  wiser  than  ourselves,  and  the  pro- 


ON     BOARD     AND      OFF.  15 

found  humbug  of  mysteries  would  be  lost  to  our  won- 
der. This  much  we  do  know,  that  we  are  to  go  to  Pulo 
Piaang,  in  the  Straits  of  Malacca,  and  take  on  board  the 
Hon.  Townseud  Harris,  Consul  General  to  Japan. 

At  our  first  Sunday  morning  muster  we  had  read  to  us 
the  articles  of  war  in  all  their  thundering  terrors,  and  the 
ever  recurring  penalty  which  closes  so  many  offenses  : 
"Death,  or  such  other  piiuishment  as  a  court  martial 
shall  adjudge" — the  bullet  and  the  halter. 

There  seems  to  be  among  us  a  strange  overlooking, 
or  ijjconsistent  view  of  human  nature,  or  Navy  nature  is 
not  human  nature.  In  the  first  place,  there  is  an  exjiecta- 
tion  that  every  one  who  goes  on  board  of  a  mati-of-war 
is  to  hold  all  sorts  of  death — hanging,  shooting  or  drown- 
ing— in  utter  contempt.  Indeed,  he  is  to  seek  them  as 
the  natural  end  of  existence,  and  to  be  himg  or  shot  for 
avoiding  them  ;  and  yet  these  are  the  official  threats. 

"  To  liauci  the  ■wretch  in  order." 

And  once  a  month,  on  sacred  Sabbath  mornings,  they 
are  ferociously  shaken  over  our  heads,  begetting  no 
other  feelings  than  contempt  or  defiance. 

The  assembled  wisdom  of  the  nation,  by  slow  and 
painful  processes,  got  a  kind  of  inkling  that  terror  and 
threats  were  not  the  most  expedient  means  of  governing 
the  American  seaman  ;  and  they  devised  a  code  which, 
in  pay,  privileges  and  honorable  testimonies,  offers  a  re- 
ward for  fideUty  and  obedience.  But  this  ray  of  sun- 
shine was  not  permitted  to  gleam  through  the  cloud  of 
the  death  penalty  and  the  gloom  of  the  articles  of  war. 
It  was  a  mistake.  How  many  besides  Chinese  are  be- 
fogged by  "  ola  custom  !" 


16  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

II. 

CLOTH. 

On  two  successive  Sundays  wo  had  first  an  undress  and 
tlien  a  full-dress  imiform  muster.  Our  costume  has  been  in- 
flicted upon  us  by  some  golden-fancied  authority ;  and  de- 
vised by  a  rule  of  wide  departure  from  the  fitness  of  things. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  imprecations,  as  well  as  prayers  of 
better  significance,  have  their  efiiciency  at  least  modified 
by  the  source  from  which  they  emanate ;  otherwise  I 
should  fear  much  for  those  who  perpetuate  cocked  hats 
and  full-dress  blue  cloth  coats  Hned  with  white  silk  and 
stiflened  with  embroidery. 

It  was  a  busy  scene  in  all  our  apartments  on  the  Sun- 
day of  that  full-dress  muster.  Gold  and  glitter  all  about 
— hanging  over  the  chairs  and  lying  on  the  tables,  Ofii- 
cers  and  their  servants  busy  in  tying  epaulets  upon  the 
shoulders  of  these  same  wliite-silk-hned,  blue  cloth,  em- 
broidered coats  ;  buckling  on  swords,  and  giving  the  right 
swing  to  sword-knots,  the  accurate  range  to  the  sharp  cor- 
ners of  their  cocked  hats.  An  animated  running  commen- 
tary was  kept  up  during  these  proceedings. 

"  Twenty  dollars  for  this  thing,  case  and  all !"  said  one, 
as  he  looked  in  the  glass  and  gave  his  cocked  hat  a  little 
twist,  bringing  it  obliquely  across  his  face. 

"  And  fifty  dollars  for  this  coat,  to  he  in  my  locker  and 
blacken  with  bilge  water.  We  wear  them  now  to  show 
that  we  have  them ;  and  shall  not  perhaps  use  them  again 
during  the  whole  cruise." 

"  Seventy  dollars  for  hat  and  coat ;  yes  you  may  say  a 
hundred  sunk  in  things  we  shall  never  want,"  said  a  third. 

"It  would  lay  in  a  whole  outfit  of  shirts  and  stock- 
ings." 


CLOTH.  17 

"  It  Avould  school  a  young  lady  for  a  year,"  said  a  pru- 
dent father. 

"  It  would  buy  an  eighty  acre  lot,"  said  a  prospective 
farmer. 

But,  my  friends,  this  time  the  folly  may  be  excusable. 
"We  are  going  to  Siam — we  are  paraded  against  barbaric 
pomp  and  must  outshine  the  Orientals. 

"All  hands  to  muster,  gentlemen,"  said  a  messenger 
boy  ;  and  we  proceeded  to  the  deck,  where  the  crew  were 
already  assembled  in  dark  blue  cloth. 

Guided  by  splendor  of  decoration,  the  eye,  in  mark- 
ing our  distinctions,  would  first  light  upon  the  Com- 
mander of  the  Marines.  I  can  not  undertake  to  analyze 
the  elegant  amalgamation  and  blending  of  dark  blue,  of 
brilUant  crunson,  and  dazzling  decorations  which  made 
up  his  costume.  The  oflficers  of  the  line — the  Captain  and 
Lieutenants — were  bound  in  golden  bands  around  collar 
and  cuifs ;  the  seams  of  their  pantaloons  being  broadly 
striped  with  glittering  lace.  We  of  the  staff — Engineer, 
Purser,  Medical  Officers — symboled  the  vigor  and  endur- 
ing vitality  of  our  country  by  modest  wreaths  of  the  acorn 
and  leaves  of  the  live  oak.  The  olive-branch  and  paddle 
wheel  on  the  collars  of  the  Engineers  designated  their 
special  vocation  and  spoke  of  the  peaceful  progress  of  art 
and  science.  There  were  smaller  lights  whose  twinkle 
was  scarcely  noticed  in  this  golden  blaze. 

"  Stand  in  a  line,  gentlemen,"  said  the  First  Lieutenant ; 
"  the  Captain  wants  to  see  that  you  are  all  right ;"  and 
the  Captain  marched  slowly  doAvn  the  lino  scrutinizing 
our  costume  closely.  We  were  pronounced  "  right ;"  and 
the  ceremony  was  over. 

If  all  that  which  is  now  but  taAvdry  decoration  had  a 
purpose  of  practical  utility  ; — if  epaulets  were  steel  plates 
to  defend  the  shoulders  from  sword  cuts,  and  crimson 
Bashes  were   for   stanching  blood   and  bearing   off  the 


18  TIIEVOYAGEOUT. 

wouudcd — tboy  might  be  iu  accordauco  with  common 
sense.  However,  there  is  yet  hoi:>e,  even  for  Uniform 
Boards.  The  time  was  when  they  cuffed  and  caped  me 
in  sable  velvet,  and  tapered  me  off  in  white  small-clothes, 
and  silk  stockings,  and  gold  knee  and  shoe-buckles. 

The  inappropriate  and  expensive  character  of  the  uni- 
form of  of^cers  is,  however,  a  small  matter  compared  with 
the  infliction  of  an  unsightly  and  distasteful  garb  upon 
the  crew — adding  another  to  the  unnecessary  disgusts  of 
public  service.  There  are  few  things  in  which  seamen  are 
more  tenacious  than  in  the  fitness  of  their  costume  ;  and 
yet  our  authorities  have  imposed  upon  them  a  dress  bur- 
lesque and  unsightly,  and  so  distasteful  as  to  have  excited 
general  dissatisfaction.  It  consists  in  ajipeuding  large 
white  duck  cufis  and  collars  to  their  blue  flannel  shirts. 

We  had  been  at  sea  some  time,  when  another  muster 
of  costume  was  ordered,  to  see  if  these  supplements  were 
appended  to  the  shirts. 

Of  a  sujiply  of  green  turtle  we  had  on  board,  all  had 
gone  but  one  burly  reptile  of  about  five  hundred  pounds' 
weight,  belonging  to  the  Commodore.-  This  fellow  lay 
conspicuously  on  one  side  of  the  deck,  back  up  and  flij> 
pers  spread  out.  Silent,  solemn,  and  sombre  as  he  was, 
the  first  proclamation  of  dissatisfaction  with  the  order 
came  from  this  turtle.  He  was  found  one  morning  with 
a  broad  muslin  collar  tied  around  his  throat  and  folded 
back  upon  his  warty  shell,  and  a  broad  cufl"  folded  back 
on  each  fore-flipjoer.  Ridiculous  as  he  looked,  in  a  short 
time  the  crew  of  the  San  Jacinto  looked  just  as  ridiculous. 
The  muster  came,  and  as  we  stejiped  upon  deck,  where 
all  the  crew  were  assembled,  it  was  difficult  to  suppress  a 
smile  at  their  appearance.  The  expanse  of  white  collar 
and  cuffs,  contrasted  with  their  dark  blue  clothes,  made 
each  weather-beaten,  knotted,  gnarled,  bearded  head  seem 
to  emerge  from  a  child's  pinafore  pinned  behind. 


CLOTH.  19 

•'  Jack,"  said  one,  "  you  look  like  you  had  stolen  a 
sheep  and  was  carrying  it  home,  with  its  legs  tied  round 
your  neck." 

"  I  feel  just  that  way,"  replied  Jack. 

"  Our  men  look,"  said  one  of  the  Lieutenants  to  me,  as 
he  passed,  with  a  suppressed  smile,  on  the  quarter  deck, 
"  as  though  they  had  been  robbing  a  washerwoman's 
hedge  of  napkins  and  towels." 

It  must  be  admitted  that  some  of  the  men,  to  ridi- 
cule their  unsightly  dress,  had  enlarged  the  borders  of 
their  garments,  and  a  few  of  these  muslin  mutineers  were, 
after  muster,  arraigned  for  reproof;  but  the  men  had  so 
much  the  sympathy  of  the  officers  that  not  much  came  of 
it.     I  never  heard  of  any  being  punished. 

It  seems  imj)ossible  for  the  Navy  to  forgive  Doctors  for 
being  at  once  resj)ectable  men  and  part  of  the  naval  ser- 
vice. But  it  must  be  admitted  they  deserve  all  they  get. 
Any  man  who  is  so  wanting  in  common  sense  as  to  be  a 
doctor,  and  then,  being  worth  any  thing  anywhere  else, 
to  enter  the  naval  service,  is  guilty  of  such  a  violation  of 
common  discretion  that  he  should  be  ever  paying  the 
appropriate  jDcnalty.  It  is  too  amusing  to  excite  one's 
anger  to  notice  the  tenacity  with  which  the  "  Line"  of 
the  Navy  adhere  to  any  thing  which  they  may  imagine  in 
any  degree  tends  to  humiliate  their  medical  brethren. 

There  was  once  upon  a  time,  under  the  "  old  disci- 
pline," a  regulation  which  said :  "  The  Surgeon,  or  his 
assistant,  must  daily  inspect  the  boilers  and  cooking  uten- 
sils, in  order  that  they  may  be  kept  perfectly  clean. 
Their  condition  vrill  be  reported  to  the  First  Lieutenant." 

^When,  in  some  by-gone  days  to  which  the  memory 

of  man  does  not  reach,  the  cooking  utensils  may  have 
been  of  copper,  and  supposed  to  generate  poisons,  which 
the  eye  of  science  only  could  discover,  such  a  rule  would 
have   been  justifiable.      Even   in  such  a  case,  ordinary 


20  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

household  cleanliness,  ascertainable  by  any  one,  would 
have  been  the  remedy.  But  now  that  the  whole  appa- 
ratus is  nothing  but  good  wholesome  iron,  it  with  every 
propriety  comes  lender  the  supervision  of  the  police  of  the 
deck  upon  which  the  galley  is  placed ;  and  the  disposition  to 
impose  the  supervision  upon  the  medical  officers,  as  a  spe- 
cialty, is  only  a  manifestation  of  that  illiberal  spirit  which 
would  delight  in  degrading  them  to  a  scullion's  duty."* 

The  regulation  upon  this  subject,  after  much  dissatis- 
Jaction,  defiance,  and  ridicule,  fell  into  disuse,  and  was 
formally  repealed  by  the  Department,  on  the  24th  of  Aj^ril, 
1848.  A  discreditable  attempt  was  subsequently  made 
to  revive  it.  The  effi)rt  of  commanding  officers  to  mi- 
nutely detail  the  duties  of  medical  officers  has  always 
been  a  ridiculous  failure  ;  because,  in  proportion  to  the 
detail,  the  commanding  officer  assumes  the  responsibiUty 
of  the  medical  officer's  conscience  and  sense  of  duty  ;  and 
he  still  has  to  leave  every  thing  essential  in  his  depart- 
ment to  the  skill,  ability,  and  honor  of  that  officer ;  and 
if  these  are  not  sufficient  to  render  him  useful  in  his  voca- 
tion, there  is  no  power  that  can. 

Soon  after  getting  to  sea,  the  code  of  internal  regula- 
tions was  sent  down  to  me,  and  the  First  Lieutenant  es- 
pecially called  my  attention  to  the  one  of  inspecting  the 
ship's  coppers.  Of  course  it  was  expunged  when  I  called 
attention  to  the  fact  that  it  had  been  repealed  eight  years 
before. 

But  the  United  States  is  the  only  social  paradise  of 
doctors,  and  those  who  follow  kindred  humble  and  use- 
ful pursuits.  They  should  always  stay  at  home.  This 
fact  Is  the  secret  of  the  intense  opposition  which  the  line 
of  the  Xavy  has  for  so  many  years  manifested  toward  any 
respectable  rank  and  privileges  being  conferred  upon 
their  medical  brethren.     It  is  a  historical  fact  that  our 

*  Editorial  New  York  Times. 


CLOTH.  21 

Navy  is  not  an  outgrowth  of  our  institutions,  but  of  the 
British  Navy  ;  and  except  in  a  few  very  modern  instances 
of  spasmodic  originaUty,  has  servilely  copied  it.  '  Even 
the  very  uniform  which  the  last  board  hatched,  after  a 
long  incubation,  is  a  literal  copy  of  that  then  existing  in 
the  British  service ;  and,  like  Laban's  goats,  they  stole 
their  golden  streaks  fi-om  staring  upon  models  before 
their  eyes ;  and  as  the  stripes  carried  the  goats  of  his 
father  to  Jacob,  they  bring  vital  vices  from  our  paternal 
British  fold  to  us.  It  is  well  known  that  doctors  are  not, 
in  England,  no  more  than  mechanics  or  farmers,  "  first 
class  people."  They  may  be  very  respectable  men  ;  but 
there  are  social  grades  into  which  they  are  not  only  not 
born,  but  to  which  as  doctors  they  can  never  be  elevated ; 
with  which  they  never  associate  on  an  equal  footing. 
Wlio  ever  heard  of  an  English  peer,  or  an  English  peer's 
youngest  son,  turning  doctor  ?  The  places  in  the  naval 
service  are  kept  for  these  men,  who  are  excluded  from 
humble,  useful  pursuits.  The  naval  doctors  come  from 
another  sphere,  arid  consequently  all  the  arrangements 
of  the  service  are  to  perpetuate  these  established  dis- 
tinctiors  of  civil  life.  As  we  have  no  such  distinctions 
in  our  country,  when  we  are  all  doing  the  best  we  can 
at  home  on  our  small  pay — Doctors,  Captains,  and  Com- 
modores, living  in  quiet  streets  and  country  towns — the 
Doctor  does  not  think  that  he  is  patronized,  and  the  Cap- 
tain may  be  wilUng  to  acknowledge  him  as  a  social  equal. 
The  atmosphere  of  his  country  is  upon  him,  and  is  too 
healthy  for  the  fungus  of  disgusting  pretension.  But 
when,  removed  from  that,  they  meet  in  squadron  upon  a 
foreign  station,  a  new  influence  is  iipon  us.  There  our 
line  ofl&cei's  find  that  their  compeers — the  midshipmen, 
and  the  lieutenants,  and  the  captains — are  Prince  So-and 
So,  the  Honorable  Mr.  So-and-So,  or  the  son  of  Lord  John, 
while  the  doctors  are  only  the  doctors — "  merely  middle 


22  TUEVOTAGEOUT. 

and  lower  class  men,  you  know."  Some  of  our  folks 
get  a  vague  idea  tliat  as  English  naval  line  officers  are 
princes  and  lords,  American  naval  line  officers  are  some- 
tbing  of  the  same  kind,  and  now  they  are  very  nervous 
as  to  the  presumption  of  their  medical  brethren,  and 
anxious  to  serve  out  the  English  law  and  custom  to  them, 
and  lament  the  democracy  wliich  forbids  it,  forgetting  to 
ask  where  and  what  the  sons  of  their  fathers  would  be 
under  the  institutions  which  put  medical  men  in  an  infe- 
rior class  ?  I  know  I  have  been  very  ungrateful  for  the 
patronizing  manner  of  these  gentlemen.  Those  who  have 
reached  to  any  thing  like  rank,  if  they  have  had  any  doc- 
tor friends  in  the  squadron  to  whom  they  have  been  com- 
mitted by  imprudent  intimacies  at  home,  look  upon  them 
as  a  sort  of  poor  relations.  There  is  a  kind  of  obligation 
to  invite  them  to  dinner  occasionally,  but  not  when  any 
first  class  foreigners  are  present — a  special  patronizing 
sub  affiiir  must  be  got  up  for  the  purpose.  All  this  is 
very  natural,  and  only  shows  human  weakness  more  than 
human  wickedness.  Few  men  have  strength  of  charac- 
ter sufficient  to  rise  above  surrounding  influences,  even  to 
wear  a  hat  not  the  fashion,  much  less  a  princij^le ;  and  it 
is  scarcely  to  be  expected  of  a  seiwice  of  routine,  usage, 
and  precedent,  that  it  can  represent  abroad  the  glorious 
subhmity  and  originality  of  the  social  structure  of  our 
country,  which  the  foreign  associates  upon  whom  we  model 
can  neither  respect  nor  comprehend — ^indeed  look  upon 
with  contempt.  I  speak  only  of  classes  and  general  influ- 
ence; oiu-  service  is  so  fortunate  as  to  have  in  it  those  broad- 
minded  men  who  are  more  proud  of  being  and  acting  the 
xVmerican  citizen  than  the  American  naval  officer,  and  who 
do  not  dwarf  the  broad  principles  they  represent  into  a  per- 
severing opposition  to  brother  officers,  who,  equally  with 
themselves,  serve  theii'  common  country,  nor  do  they  waste 
then*  energies  in  contests  respecting  strips  of  gold  lace. 


"  s  L  u  s  n  ."  23 

An  excitement  about  what  appeared  at  first  to  be  a 
boat  full  of  men,  but  which  proved  to  be  an  abandoned 
wreck  drifting  about  the  ocean  soUtudes  ;  a  gale  of  wind 
which  sent  the  sea  washing  through  the  stern  jDorts  im- 
petuously, crushed  and  deluged  the  ward-room — our 
apailment — prostrated  several  with  sea-sickness,  rolled 
the  San  Jacinto  terribly,  dipping  up  the  sea  into  her 
suspended  boats  on  each  side,  and  carrying  away  boats 
and  davits,  with  our  stock  of  potatoes  and  other  vegeta- 
bles, were  the  principal  external  incidents  in  our  run  fi'om 
New  York  to  Madeh-a. 


III. 
"SLUSH. 


SoiiE  years  ago,  during  a  visit  to  the  West,  I  was  in 
one  of  those  growing,  active,  and  prosperous  cities,  the 
sight  of  which  is  a  source  of  patriotic  exultation.  Its 
commerce,  social  elegance,  architectural  splendor  ;  its 
temples  of  religion,  halls  of  literature,  and  museums  of 
art,  were  all  resting  upon  that  humble  and  despised  ani- 
mal who  literally  lards  the  lean  earth,  whose  brilliant 
light  is  now  outshining  that  of  the  waning  whale,  and 
whose  solid  substance  is  one  of  the  foundations  of  our 
naval  existence. 

With  the  natural  curiosity  to  see  something  of  the  pro- 
cesses by  which  these  animals  are  brought  into  a  con- 
dition of  practical  utihty,  I  visited  one  of  the  most  exten- 
sive slaughter-houses.  Immense  droves  of  swine  in  a 
large  inclosure  were  grunting  impatiently  to  enter  a  nar- 
row passage,  at  the  farther  end  of  which  swung  a  gate, 
which  was,  to  every  hog  who  passed  it,  the  gate  of  death. 


24  T  11  E     V  O  Y  A  G  E     O  U  T  , 

On  its  mnor  side  he  met  the  fatal  knife,  and  his  Ufe-blood 
flowed  a  steady  current  mto  the  neighboruig  liver. 
Tumbled  into  vast  cauldrons  of  boiling  water,  around 
which  were  crowded  busy  laborers,  he  passed  with  many 
of  his  fellows  down  the  steamy  tide,  was  stripped  of  his 
bristles,  robbed  of  his  bowels,  and  soon  hung  with  dis- 
tended limbs,  clean  and  white,  in  a  large  room,  amid 
whole  platoons  of  his  predecessors. 

I  am  almost  glad  I  have  forgotten,  as  I  should  fear  to 
write,  the  incredibly  small  space  of  time  occupied  in  this 
whole  process.  Not  one  of  these  hogs  is  owned  by  the 
proprietors  of  the  estabUshment.  Its  great  outlay  of  caj)- 
ital,  its  capacious  buildings,  its  corps  of  laborers,  steam- 
engines,  cauldrons  and  lard-vats,  are  all  kej)t  up  to  do 
their  slaughtering  gratuitously  for  the  owners  of  the 
swine — ^better  than  gratuitously :  the  establishment  pays 
a  small  charge  for  the  privilege  of  doing  the  work,  and 
finds  an  ample  reward  in  the  possession  of  the  lumps  of 
fat  which  are  found  adhering  to  the  (I  do  not  wish  to 
offend  ears  polite)  animal's  inteiior  arrangements.  Such 
is  the  profit  of  small  things. 

The  "  Slush  Fund"  of  a  man-of-war  owes  its  valuable 
accumixlation  to  a  like  economical  savings  of  the  ooziugs 
and  drippings  of  the  same  animal. 

The  manner  of  serving  the  rations  is  as  follows:  the 
crew  is  generally  divided  into  messes  of  ten  or  twelve 
persons,  and  one  of  this  number  is  called  the  "  cook  of 
the  mess."  Luciis  a  non  lucendo.  He  does  not  cook, 
but  takes  care  of  the  mess  chest,  the  pots  and  pans  of  his 
mess,  receives  from  the  purser's  steward  the  daUy  ration 
allotted  them,  ties  the  various  articles  in  separate  and  ap- 
propriate bags  and  bundles,  marks  them  with  a  tally  or 
stick  on  which  is  cut  the  number  of  the  mess.  ITie 
rations  are  served  out  by  the  purser's  steward,  by  tap  of 
di-um,  on  the  day  preceding  that  to  which  they  belong. 


"slush."  25 

Each  mess  cook  delivers  his  share  to  the  ship's  cook,  who 
prepares  it  all  in  the  large  apparatus  under  his  charge. 
Just  before  the  hour  of  serving  he  brings  a  sample  to  the 
officer  of  the  deck,  to  show  that  it  is  properly  done.  The 
mess  cooks  spread  black  painted  cloths  upon  the  deck, 
arrange  the  pots  and  pans,  receive  their  "  grub"  again 
fi'om  the  ship's  cook,  and  the  boatswain's  mates  pipe  all 
hands  to  their  meals. 

It  must  be  distinctly  understood  that  all  this  refers 
exclusively  to  the  men  or  crew,  each  division  of  officers 
having  its  own  apartment,  its  own  cooking  apparatus  and 
special  cook,  because  upon  this  distinction  rests  the  un- 
certainty of  the  "Slush  Fund." 

This  fund  is  the  product  of  the  sale  of  the  gi'ease 
skimmed  fi'om  the  water  in  which  the  crew's  rations 
are  boiled,  and  during  a  cruise  it  amounts  to  several 
hundred  dollars.  Now,  where  rests  the  proprietorship 
of  this  fund?  With  the  crew,  with' the  officers  and 
ship  generally,  or  with  the  United  States  government  ? 
It  is  a  mooted  question,  unsettled  by  statute  law  or  by 
that  ocean  of  naval  reference  for  doubtful  points,  the 
"usage  of  the  sea  service" — which  latter,  like  other 
oceans,  varies  its  currents  with  the  varying  winds,  or, 
in  other  words,  according  to  the  changing  oi^inions  of 
commanding  officers.  I  beUeve  the  government,  for  the 
first  time,  became  a  claimant  on  this  fund  in  the  follow- 
ing circumstances.  It  seems  to  Lave  asserted  the  arbi- 
ter's right  to  the  oyster,  leaving  the  shell  to  the  litigants. 

Navy  Department,  September  29,  1855. 

Sm: — Your  letter  of  the  28th  instant,  requesting  au- 
thority to  ship  a  band,  and  for  the  purchase  of  musical 
mstruments  for  the  "  San  Jacinto"  has  been  received. 

The  Commandant  at  New  York  has  been  directed  to 
cause  a  band  to  be  enlisted. 


26  THEVOYAGKOUT. 

You  will  direct  the  purchase  of  the    musical   instru- 
ments, and  the  payment,  for  the  present,  out  of  "  Con- 
tingent," to  be  I'eplaced,  in  time,  from  the  "  Slush  Fund." 
I  am  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

J.  C.  DoBBiNr. 
Commander  H.  H.  Bell, 

Commftnding  U.  S.  Steam  Frigate  "  San  Jacinto,"  New  York. 

This  then  led  to  various  expressions  of  opinion.  One  party 
contended  that  the  "  Slush  Fund"  belonged  exclusively 
to  the  crew  out  of  whose  flesh  it  came,  and  that  it  should 
be  expended,  for  their  benefit,  for  such  ship  indulgences, 
in  which  the  crew  could  participate,  as  the  government 
did  not  allow ;  or  for  salutary  fruits  for  their  use  when 
in  port.  This  party  admitted  that  a  band  might  be  a 
legitimate  claim  upon  the  *'  Slush  Fund,"  provided  a  band 
was  not  regularly  allowed  by  the  government,  because 
the  crew  had  the  benefit  of  the  music.  But  the  band 
being  a  regular  government  allowance  to  a  "  flag  ship," 
to  tax  the  "  Slush  Fund"  with  it,  this  party  contended, 
was  the  rich  man's  infringement  upon  Naboth's  vine- 
yard. 

Another  party,  I  think  it  might  be  called  a  minority 
opposition — but  I  may  be  prejudiced  in  my  judgment, 
as  I  belong  to  the  other  side — contended  that  although 
the  "  slush"  did  ooze  out  of  the  crew's  meat,  yet,  as  they 
could  not  individually  save  and  take  care  of  it,  but  this 
had  to  be  done  by  the  ship,  therefore  it  might  be  ex- 
pended for  decorations  of  the  ship  and  of  the  boats,  and 
such  other  things  in  which  the  crew  had  no  special  inter- 
est. This  argument  was  replied  to  by  saying  that  the 
ship  was  bound  either  to  furnish  the  men  with  the  means 
of  taking  care  of  their  slush,  or  else  to  take  care  of  it  for 
them. 


MADEIRA.  27 

Sometimes,  in  the  uncertainty  of  the  matter,  both  par- 
ties agree  to  hand  it  over  to  some  charity.  I  heard  of 
no  faction  sustaining  the  claim  of  the  government,  which 
may  have  arisen  from  the  tendency  of  human  nature  not 
to  side  with  the  strongest  party,  no  matter  how  just  its 
claims  may  be.  This  question,  like  many  others,  is  still 
an  unsettled  one.  It  may  ever  remain  such,  as  it  involves 
principles  of  right,  of  interest,  and  of  power.  Thus  far 
power  has  it,  and  as  most  of  the  questions  which  agitate 
the  various  able  debating  societies  spread  over  our  land 
have  lost  the  interest  of  novelty,  I  recommend  this  to 
their  notice,  suggesting  that  they  may  favor  the  ends  of 
justice  by  communicating  their  conclusions  to  the  federal 
government. 


IV. 

MADEIRA 


But  little  over  two  weeks  since  we  left  New  York — 
]ust  sixteen  days — but  days  of  such  shipboard  tedium 
and  discomfort,  they  seem  as  many  weeks,  and  now  on  a 
bright  Sunday  morning,  November  11th,  we  are  running 
•along  the  mountain  shores  of  Madeii-a,  with  its  white 
villages  and  cottages  perched  along,  and,  one  above 
another,  far  up  the  mountain  side. 

Soft  and  balmy  is  the  air ;  blue,  and  gently  ripplmg, 
the  sea  stretches  away  on  our  right  hand  ;  whUe  on  the 
left — rocky,  brown,  red  and  purj^le — the  mountain  island 
rises  from  the  ocean.  At  such  time  and  in  such  a  scene 
one  may  be  excused  a  little  poetical  emotion — nay,  would 
not  one  without  it  have  that  unmusical  soul  which  the 
master  of  the  human  heart  has  told  is  "fit  for  trea- 
son, stratagem  and  spoil  ?"    Islands,  all  islands,  are  poeti- 


28  THE    VOYAGE     OUT. 

cal  existences  in  tlieniselves ;  their  pliilosojjhy  is  poetry  : 
growing  gnulually  from  the  deep  sea  depths  by  the  mi- 
croscopic labors  of  the  coral  insect,  or  thrust  at  once  into 
the  upper  air  amid  earthquake  throes  and  volcanic  convul- 
sions sliakiug  the  earth  to  its  center.  Mysterious  in  their 
sea  boundaries — cut  off"  from  the  grave,  soUd,  unchanging 
character  of  the  mam  laud — they  are  the  abodes  of  Calyp- 
sos,  of  pirate  heroes  and  goat-skin  clad  Crusoes.  But 
Madeira  has  its  own  special  story  to  tell — a  story  of  its 
first  discovery  being  one  of  a  love  whose  roughened 
course  was  o'er  the  stormy  sea.  Somewhere  about  five 
hundred  years  ago,  when  Edward  the  Third  was  King  of 
England,  the  beautiful  and  noble  Anna  D'Arfet  was 
loved  and  approved  the  love  of  Robert  Machim,  a  gentle- 
man of  low  degree.  After  the  natural  series  of  mishaps, 
impediments  and  other  family  obstacles  consequent  up- 
on so  unequal  an  attachment,  the  pair  attempted  to  fly 
to  France,  but  were  driven  they  knew  not  whither  by  a 
violent  storm,  and  in  ten  days  were  cast  ashore  on  this 
island.  Here  the  unfortunate  Anna  died  of  grief  and  suf 
fering  soon  after  landing,  and  Kobcrt,  refusing  all  food, 
in  a  few  days  was  laid  by  her  side.  His  followers  erected 
a  cross  over  the  graves,  and  a  request  that  the  first 
Christians  might  build  a  chapel  on  the  sjjot,  and  then 
leaving  the  island,  some  of  them  communicated  these 
facts  to  Gongalves  Tarco,  and  Tristam  Vaz,  who  in  1420 
took  possession  of  the  place  for  the  King  of  Portugal. 
In  memoiy  of  Robert  Machim  they  called  the  bay  in 
which  he  had  landed  Machico.  The  church  has  been 
built  over  the  graves  of  the  lovers,  and  a  piece  of  the 
cross  which  marked  the  spot  is  still  retained  as  a  reUc. 
This  was  however  but  a  rediscovery.  The  islands  were 
known  before  the  Christian  era,  and  were  subsequently 
called  the  Purple  islands,  by  Juba,  who  had  a  scheme  for 
manufacturing  the  GsetuUan  purple;  and  the  Desertas, 


MADEIRA.  29 

as  the  barren  and  rocky  islets  near  Madeira  are  called, 
at  this  day  furnish  the  orchil,  a  beautiful  purple  dye, 
and  hence  the  name.  Zarco,  from  the  forests  covering 
the  mountain  sides,  gave  it  the  name  it  still  retains — 
Madeira. 

But  Madeira,  to  the  wide  world,  does  not  mean  the 
island  or  its  forests.  Soon  after  the  occupation  of  the 
island,  Prince  Henry,  son  of  King  John  of  Portugal, 
sent  the  colony  seeds  and  the  materials  of  agriculture. 
Among  them  were  a  few  slips  of  vine  from  the  isle  of 
Cyprus.  What  a  future  was  before  those  vine  slips  ;  and 
where  have  they  not  borne  the  word  "  Madeira,"  asso- 
ciated with  the  glowing  liquid  which  had  its  origin  in 
them,  and  upon  which  the  fortunes  of  the  island  have 
flowed  ?  In  the  northern  palaces  of  the  Muscovite  and 
the  castles  of  the  German.  Diffusing  its  blessings  with 
that  of  constitutional  government,  it  appears  on  the  table 
of  both  cit  and  noble,  dispelling  the  gloom  of  England's 
fogs.  Adopted  by  the  conquering  Saxon,  it  has  followed 
him  in  Afiica  and  the  Indies,  amid  the  orange  groves  of 
Southern  and  the  forests  of  Northern  America,  in  the 
wastes  of  the  ocean  and  the  perils  and  privations  of  the 
camp.  In  all  climes  Madeh-a  has  been  found,  cheering 
social  and  festive  communion.  It  has  been  heard  in 
pledges  of  patriotic  fervor,  in  those  of  love  and  friendship 
to  present  and  absent.  Entombed  at  the  birth  it  appears 
at  the  bridal,  and  as  the  dusty  and  cobwebbed  bottles 
come  to  Ught,  they  are  regarded  with  a  reverential  awe 
due  to  the  provident  spiiits  of  the  departed  ancestry  who 
first  deposited  them  in  the  vaults  where  they  have 
ripened. 

But  whilst  we  are  thus  sentimentalizing  imder  the 
shadow  of  Madeira  upon  days  and  usages  which  are  fall- 
ing beneath  the  onslaught  of  "  Maine  Laws"  and  tcctotal- 
isra,  our  ship  has  run  along  the  rocky  shores  until,  just  olT 


30  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

a  point,  and  standing  out  isolated  in  the  sea,  is  the  "  Loo 
Rock,"  with  a  fortress  upon  its  summit.  From  this  point, 
for  the  distance  of  two  or  three  miles,  the  rocky  wall  of 
the  island  sinks  to  a  pebbly  beach,  along  which  is  built 
the  city  of  Fuuchal,  white  and  brilliant,  house  above 
house  and  street  above  street,  climbing  up  the  mountain 
side  ;  and  outside  the  city,  still  on  higher  terraces,  are  the 
cottages  and  "  quintas,"  or  country  residences ;  while  yet 
further  up,  beyond  all  visible  habitation,  and  overlook- 
ing all,  is  the  church  of  "  Nossa  Senhora  do  Monte,"  Our 
Lady  of  the  Mount,  its  white  turrets  contrasting  with 
the  dark  background  of  the  mountain  which  now  sweeps 
away  until  its  summit  arrests  the  morning  and  evening 
clouds  and  mists,  and  is  occasionally  capped  with  snow. 

We  have  anchored,  and  numerous  small  boats  are  hur- 
rying off  from  the  shore  with  washerwomen,  and  other 
persons  desirous  of  our  patronage,  and  of  supplying  us 
with  the  many  comforts  which  we  sea-worn  people  are 
likely  to  require.  Among  these  boats  is  one  bearing  the 
Portuguese  flag.  It  is  that  of  the  Captain  of  the  Port, 
who,  in  the  uniform  of  his  station,  comes  aboard  to  in- 
quire into  our  character,  state  of  health,  etc.,  and  also  to 
arrange  for  an  interchange  of  salutes. 

Before  going  ashore,  and  while  they  are  drawing  the 
shot  and  making  other  preparations  for  the  salute,  we  can 
amuse  ourselves  in  looking  at  these  boats,  and  they  are 
worth  it,  as  they  lie  floating,  all  now  dropj)ed  astern  to 
be  out  of  the  way  of  the  gims.  They  are  prettily  painted, 
are  very  deep,  appear  buoyant,  and  have  at  each  end  a 
slightly  curved  stick  or  handle,  rising  two  or  three  feet 
above  the  boat.  The  salute  of  thirteen  guns  being  fired 
and  returned  from  the  castle,  we  are  now  ready  to  put 
our  feet  on  the  shore.  Several  of  us  left  the  ship  in  one  of 
our  boats.  But  large  and  commodious  as  it  was,  we  could 
not  land  in  that  boat.     There  was  the  smooth,  regular 


MADEIRA.  31 

beach  before  us ;  the  sea  was  cahn,  but  it  so  rolled  and 
curled  upon  the  beach,  that  we  should  have  been  cast 
away.     Therefore,  stopping  our  way,  a  native  boat  came 
alongside  and  received  us ;  then,  pulling  in  close  to  the 
beach,  we  turned  about,  keeping  our  bow  to  the  sea  and 
our  stem  to  the  shore,  and  waited  until  a  sea  came  rolling 
in,  when,  by  a  nice  management  of  the  oars,  keeping  our 
position,  we  rose  ujdou  the  sea,  were  swept  onward,  and  as 
it  retui'ned  we  were  left  upon  the  beach,  and  before  an- 
other sea  could  catch  us  a  rope  was  passed  around  the 
handle  at  the  stern  of  the  boat,  and  we  were  run  up,  amid 
shouts  and  cries,  upon  the  Madeiran  shore  ;  the  boat  hav- 
ing two  side  keels  or  runners  to  facilitate  this  movement. 
And  now  we  have  our  first  introduction  to  the  humanity 
of  the  place — the  beach  combing,  refuse  humanity,  it  is 
true,  but  it  is  the  first  thing  that  arrests  our  attention, 
and  I  wish  my  readers  to  see  every  thing  just  as  I  saw  it. 
Amiable,  courteous,  and  respectful,  ofl^  go  their  hats  at  our 
approach,  for  these  people  about  the  beach  have  generally 
caught  foreign  fashions  and  wear  hats ;  but  we  are  very 
much  amused  at  the  ridiculous  appearance  of  one  or  two 
fellows  who  have  the  very  summit  of  the  head  surmounted 
by  a  blue  cloth  funnel  with  its  spike,  three  or  four  inches 
long,  sticking  stiif  and  straight  up  from  the  crown  of  the 
head.     This  is  the  caripuca,  the  national  head-dress  worn 
by  both  male  and  female.     What  could  have  originated 
such  a  head-dress  is  a  matter  of  speculation,  and  equally 
to  be  wondered  at  is  how  the  thing  is  retained  on  the 
summit  of  the  head.     It  affords  no  protection  of  course 
from  the  rays  of  the  sun,  and  being  of  double  woolen 
cloth  it  must  generate  much  unnecessary  heat  in  the  few 
inches  of  scalp  covered  by  it.     I  have,  however,  my  own 
theory,  associating  it  with  the  national  characteristic  of 
courtesy.     It  is  necessary  to  have  some  means  of  making 
their  constant  salutations,  and  this  caripuca  being  grasped 


32  THE    VOYAGE     OUT. 

bv  its  spike  and  carried  in  the  hand  as  they  are  passing 
those  to  whom  they  wish  to  pay  respect,  is  exactly  the 
thing,  and  in  all  respects  a  capitaJ  appendage.  But  a  less 
agreeable  characteristic  than  courtesy  is  thrust  upon  us  at 
the  beginning — ^the  want  of  energy  and  selt-respect,  which 
leads  to  a  general  demand  for  alms.  "Pobre,  pobre, 
pobre,"  salutes  us  on  all  hands  as  we  continue  our  way  to 
the  Consul's.  One  poor  old  wretch,  with  a  hideously  dis- 
torted countenance,  beseechingly  thrusts  herself  and  her 
hand  in  your  way.  Tour  are  about  to  take  out  your 
purse  when  a  lad  runs  before  you  with  a  mutilated  arm. 
Your  first  movement  of  charity  has  drawn  a  crowd  :  hur- 
rying on  his  crutches  comes  one  without  a  leg — a  woman 
with  a  baby — then  little  sparkling  black-eyed  boys  and 
^Is,  with  a  sudden  melancholy  dropped  over  their  coun- 
tenances, and  scarcely  vailing  the  smile  lurking  on  their 
lips,  thrust  forth  their  little  hands,  and  in  mingled  English 
and  Portuguese  piteously  ask  our  aid.  Most  of  us  have 
babies  and  little  boys  and  girls  at  home,  and  there  is  no 
resisting  them  here.  But  some  practical  thnuliar  of  the 
place  lays  his  hand  upon  your  arm,  and  sa}-s,  ''  Do  nt 
give.-'  He  explains  that  the  demand  is  interminable,  that 
you  will  be  beset  wherever  you  move,  on  foot  or  on  horse- 
back, in  town  or  in  country ;  that  you  are  now  the  vic- 
tims of  the  tender-hearted  indiscreet  who  have  preceded 
you.  If  you  do  put  up  your  purse,  you  will  need  some 
reasons  to  satisiy  your  conscience,  and  they  will  come 
upon  you  in  this  wise :  "  I  cotild  nt  give  to  aJL"  i'  I 
did  n't  know  who  needed  most."  "  Did  any  really  need  ?" 
Where  there  is  so  much  begging  there  must  be  much 
charity,  systematic  as  well  as  casuaL  They  looked  all  in 
pretty  good  case,  and  the  really  needy  must  be  proTided 
for  by  some  regular  establishment.  They  are — and  so  we 
leave  the  pobres  to  beg  on  to-morrow  and  next  year,  as 
they  have  done  in  days  and  years  that  are  past. 


MADEIEA.  33 

TVe  mil  take  a  look  at  tte  streets — queer  streets  they  are. 
You  who  walk  on  brick  side-walks,  with  broad  carriage 
ways  intervening,  would  call  them  lanes  and  alleys,  and, 
except  where  there  are  shops  and  stores,  not  lanes  and 
alleys  running  between  stores,  but  between  dead  walls, 
with  here  and  there  massive  gate- ways  and  doors  open- 
ing into  the  grounds  and  to  the  houses  behind  the  walls. 
Your  attention  will  soon  be  attracted  to  the  pavement 
OTer  which  you  are  walking,  and  espedally  if  you  happen 
unfortunately  to  have  on  a  pair  of  thin-soled  shoes.  It  is 
all  comj)osed  of  small  stones  about  the  size  of  an  egg,  in 
many  places  set  in  regular  figures,  squares,  diamond,  etc., 
sometimes  lined  off  by  white  stones.  It  looks  very  pretty, 
and  the  streets  are  neat  and  clean,  for,  being  sharply  in- 
clined planes,  they  are  thoroughly  washed  by  every  rain, 
Mid  besides,  through  most  of  them  a  gutter  of  mountain 
spring  water  is  rushing.  In  addition  to  these  natural 
means  of  cleanliness,  a  police  regulation  requires  each 
householder  to  sweep  before  his  premises  every  Saturday. 
It  wifl  readHy  be  seen  that  such  toy  looking  streets  as 
these  would  soon  be  torn  up  by  carts  and  carriages.  But 
there  are  no  such  things  as  wheeled  vehicles  used.  They 
would  be  unmanageable  On  these  steep  ascents,  and  here 
we  hare  before  us  the  mode  of  carrying  burdens.  Two 
pleasant  chubby  Httle  oxen,  not  taller  than  our  six  month 
calves,  are  hame^ed  to  a  thick  plank,  about  two  feet 
broad,  which,  resting  upon  two  narrower  thick  pieces  as 
runners,  is  the  island  sledge.  This  one  we  are  now  look- 
ing at  is  laden  with  a  hogshead,  and  seems  to  glide  eaaly 
enough  orer  the  smooth  polished  stones.  Having  seen 
these  things  in  our  short  walk  to  the  Consul's,  we  enter 
the  great  gate  through  the  outer  wall  of  his  residence, 
and  are  imme<iiately  surrounded  by  the  rich  luxuriance 
of  the  climate.  Onr  way  is  up  the  pebble-paved  walk, 
shaded  with  overhanging  foliage,  a  banana  grove  on  one 


34  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

hand,  and  on  the  other  a  garden  of  orange,  fig,  pome- 
granate and  coftee  trees,  laden  with  fruit,  with  a  profusion 
of  bright  colored  flowers,  among  which  glow  conspicu- 
ously the  large  scarlet  petals  of  the  "  Manhao  de  Pasco"  or 
"  Easter  Morning,"  as  the  Portuguese  call  it,  the  Poin- 
setti  Pulcherrima  of  the  Euphorbiaceae.  Among  the  curi- 
ous growths  of  the  garden  attracting  our  attention,  con- 
spicuous is  the  "Durante,"  We  notice  that  a  large  space 
of  the  pebble-paved  yard,  from  forty  to  fifty  feet  square, 
is  completely  and  darkly  shaded  by  foliage,  the  whole  of 
"which  is  the  product  of  a  single  trunk,  which,  about 
eighteen  inches  thick,  rises  from  the  centre  of  the  space 
to  the  height  of  five  to  six  feet,  and  then  spreads  out  as  a 
vine,  supported  upon  frame-work,  and  matting  together 
for  a  thickness  of  two  feet  or  more,  covers  the  whole  space 
as  with  an  enormous  umbrella  of  green  leaves,  small  violet 
blossoms  and  bunches  of  bright  yellow  berries. 

Amid  aU  this  luxuriant  vegetation,  fruits,  bright  flow- 
ers and  clear  skies,  we  take  a  sleigh  ride.  Having  a  visit 
to  make  to  an  acquaintance  far  up  the  steep,  it  is  sug- 
gested to  us  that  we  take  a  "  carro,"  and  one  being  sent 
for,  we  are  apprised  of  its  approach  by  long-drawn  cries 
of  Bu-oy,  Buo-oy,  and  going  to  the  gate  we  find  two  of 
the  patient-looking  little  oxen  yoked  to  a  regular  sleigh 
— or,  as  the  English  wiU  call  it,  a  "  sledge."  This  sleigh 
is  heavily  built  of  mahogany,  has  a  top  and  cui-tains, 
two  cushioned  seats,  back  and  front,  and  is  mounted 
on  springs  and  runners  heavily  shod  with  steel.  Four 
of  us  taking  our  seats  in  this  vehicle,  with  a  man  and 
goad  alongside  the  oxen,  a  boy  running  ahead  of  them, 
and  a  troop  of  beggars,  little  and  big,  alongside  and  be- 
hind, off  we  go  up  the  hill  amid  cries  of  Buo-o-oy,  Bu-o-y, 
the  man  every  now  and  then  dropping  a  greased  cloth 
under  the  runners  to  facilitate  their  gliding  over  the 
stones. 


MADEIRA.  36 

Neither  do  we  want  snow  for  a  grand  "  coasting"  ride. 
It  would  delight  all  those  industrious  juveniles  who  toil 
with  their  sleds  up  snowy  hills  to  dash  coasting  down 
them,  and  it  exceeds  all  which  Russians  can  do  by  their 
artificial  mountains  of  ice  and  snow. 

There,  far  up  the  mountain  side,  you  see  the  chui'ch  of 
"  Our  Lady  of  the  Mount."  We  ride  up  to  it  on  horse- 
back, ascending  slowly  from  terrace  to  terrace,  riding 
along  the  edge  of  vast  gvilfs,  with  rivulets  groping 
through  them  Hke  silver  threads,  overlookmg  quintas, 
valleys,  Funchal,  and  seeing  further  and  further  out  to 
sea  with  each  step  of  our  elevation.  We  are  about  three 
quarters  of  an  hour  reaching  the  church,  about  two  thou- 
sand feet  above  the  sea.  From  this  point  there  is,  how- 
ever, a  precipitous  road  nearly  directly  down  the  moun- 
tain into  the  city.  Our  horses  were  now  given  in  charge 
of  the  borroqueros  who  had  accompanied  us,  clinging  to 
the  tails  of  then-  hoi'ses  as  we  trotted  up  the  steeps,  who 
drove  them  back,  while  we  took  our  seats  in  a  wicker  or 
basket-sled  for  a  coasting  descent  down  the  stee]).  Two 
men,  by  a  jerk  upon  ropes  at  each  side  of  the  car  in  front, 
gave  it  the  descending  impetus,  when  away  we  dashed, 
with  great  velocity,  down  the  hill.  The  men  jumped 
back,  and  bearing  their  weight  upon  the  arms  of  the  car, 
as  they  ran  panting  by  our  side,  controlled  its  motion, 
and  skillfully  directed  it  around  the  turns  and  curvatures 
of  the  road.  Gliding  and  whirling,  shouting  to  foot  pas- 
sengers to  stand  clear,  in  sixteen  minutes  we  were  in  the 
city. 

There  arc  yet  other  modes  of  conveyance.  The  palan- 
quin, shaded  and  curtained,  and  occupied  by  some  lady 
in  her  silks  and  embroideries,  is  frequently  met,  suspended 
from  a  long  pole  borne  on  the  shoulders  of  two  men. 
Another  more  melancholy  mode  of  conveyance  is  the 
hammock.     Made  of  colored  cord,  red,  yellow,  blue  and 


36  TIIJE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

green,  like  the  palanquin  suspended  from  a  pole  and 
borne  upon  the  shoulders  of  men,  it  is  seldom  met  ex- 
cept when  occupied  by  one  of  the  pale  emaciated  beings, 
who,  in  consumption's  hojDeless  doom,  have  yet  hoi^efully 
sought  the  balmy  breezes  of  this  clime.  Amid  all  the 
brilhancy,  the  verdure,  the  soft  and  genial  atmos]5here  of 
this  island,  it  is  melancholy  to  know,  and  to  be  continually 
reminded  by  those  you  meet,  how  many  of  its  visitors 
have  sought  it,  clinging,  Avith  their  feeble  frames,  to  a 
few  more  months  of  life.  How  wide  the  circle  of  appre- 
hensive and  wakeful  affections,  passing  through  distant 
homes,  finds  its  centre  in  this  island.  Husband  for  wife, 
wife  for  husband,  brethren  for  brethren,  and  parent  for 
child,  are  ever  hoping  its  healing  power  over  the  absent 
loved  one.  And  in  many  a  Northern  home,  while  snows 
are  driving  and  storms  howling  without,  some  bereaved 
one  sits  by  the  fireside  glowing  within,  but,  sadly  musing, 
has  wandered  in  thought  from  the  broken  domestic  circle, 
away  from  the  hearth  and  over  the  storm,  to  some  ver- 
dure and  flower-clad  grave  in  the  stranger's  cemetery  of 
Madeh-a. 


V. 

WINE. 

Now  that  the  world  has  had  its  faith  shaken  in  the 
generative  principle  of  nobility,  and  doubts  both  the  jus- 
tice and  the  expediency  of  those  institutions,  which,  as 
Pascal  says,  "give  to  the  infant  in  the  cradle  an  influ- 
ence and  consideration  that  could  not  be  acquired  by 
half  a  century's  practice  of  every  virtue,"  we  hear  of 
merchant  princes,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  in  further 
progress  we  shall  hear  of  engine,  loom,  and  anvil  princes. 


WINB.  37 

Madeira  has  its  wine  princes,  and  where  could  one  be 
supposed  to  taste  the  juice  of  the  grape  in  higher  table 
perfection  than  in  the  house  of  one  of  these  noblemen, 
who  live  in  a  style  justifying  the  title  ? 

If  I  take  any  curious,  inquiring  reader  with  me  to  the 
table  of  one  of  these  princes  to  which  I  am  invited,  he 
must  not  fear  a  wine  debauch.  This  place  of  epicurean 
refinements  and  of  deUcate  bouquets  is  not  that  in  which 
a  man  puts  pints  and  bottles  under  his  belt,  overwhelm- 
ing all  delicate  perceptions.  The  wine  drinkers  of  Ma- 
deira are  true  epicures.  A  highly-flavored  glass  or  two 
during  dinner,  a  lengthened  coqueting  with  a  glass  of 
some  choice  vintage  after  the  cloth  is  removed,  and  that  is 
all.  Indeed  those  of  the  most  nicely  discriminating  tastes 
rarely  drink  wine  at  all.  Of  course  this  commendable 
moderation  may  be  in  some  degree  departed  from  when 
they  have  a  set  of  strangers  desirous  of  taking  advantage 
of  a  chance  visit  to  go  through  all  the  choice  vintage  at 
one  sitting.  Well,  we  have  dined  and  taken  a  glass  of 
the  ordinary  table  wine,  generally  known  abroad  as 
"  London  Particular,"  or  else  a  glass  of  a  dark  port  look- 
ing and  astringent-tasted  Viuo-Tinto.  Both  are  pro- 
nounced to  be  extraordinarily  good,  of  course.  As  we 
are  now  drinking  for  wine  information,  we  inquire  what 
these  wines  exactly  are.  But  stoj) — we  will  say  nothing 
about  the  matter  until  there  is  a  greater  variety  under 
discussion.  The  dinner  is  over,  the  dessert  finished,  the 
cloth  removed,  and  with  the  nuts — among  whiuh  are 
plates  of  roast  chestnuts — old  VirgU's  "  castanea  nuces" 
— enormous  nuts,  such  as,  according  to  Professor  Owen, 
antediluvian  megatheria  may  have  sat  upon  their  hind 
quarters  and  picked  from  the  top  of  the  tree — decanters 
are  placed  at  each  end  of  the  table,  and  the  silver  neck- 
laces suspended  from  their  throats  indicate  them  to  bo 
Malmsey — Sued — Sercial — ^the  aristocracy  of  wines.     In 


3S  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

addition  to  these  we  have  the  Verdeilho  and  the  Tinta. 
These  livo  constitute  the  jjrincijjal  wines  of  the  island  of 
Madeira.  They  are  all  named  from  the  kind  of  grape 
from  Avhich  they  are  made.  There  are  three  others,  but 
they  make  only  a  low  order  of  wine  seldom  seen.  The 
Verdeilho  is  that  generally  used  and  known  as  Madeira, 
London  Particular,  etc.  It  is  deepened  in  color  by  a 
slight  addition  of  Tinta,  and  flavored  by  the  rich  and 
aromatic  Buol.  Sercial  is  also  a  highly-flavored  wine. 
Malmsey  is  generally  known  to  be  a  sweet,  luscious  and 
cordial-like  wine.  These  three  last  are  the  most  costly. 
The  Tinta  is  made  by  pressing  the  husks  and  seeds  with 
the  juice.  According  to  Dr.  Christison  and  others,  the 
proportion  of  alcohol  in  these  wines  is  as  follows : — 

Madeira  (Yerdeilho) 20.35 

Sercial 18.50 

Malmsey 1 5.60 

Tinta 20.35 

It  may  not,  even  with  the  most  delicate  and  fastidious, 
detract  from  the  flavor  of  the  rosy  fluid  to  know  that  it 
has  washed  the  feet  of  not  over  cleanly  Portuguese  labor- 
ers, for  it  has  all  been  trod  out  by  bare  feet  in  the  wine- 
press. Having  tasted  gently  of  these  choice  wines,  an- 
other element  of  quaUty  was  brought  under  discussion — 
the  element  of  age.  Our  host  told  us  that  the  bottle  he 
was  then  having  opened,  was  of  the  vintage  of  1815 — 
going  on  while  Napoleon  the  Great  was  ofi"  the  island  on 
his  way  to  St.  Helena,  and  was,  therefore,  at  the  present 
drinking,  forty  years  of  age.  But  neither  its  age,  nor  its 
unhappy  historic  association,  was  the  cause  of  its  excel- 
lence ;  but  at  that  period  L'Este,  a  hot,  dry  wind,  the 
Sirocco  or  Harmattan  of  Africa,  was  of  more  than  usual 
prevalence,  and  the  grapes  ripened  in  superior  richness. 
It  was,  to  my,  and  I  believe  to  the  general  taste,  a  finely- 


WINE.  39    - 

flavored  wine.  Next,  with  due  ceremonies  and  honors, 
a  bottle  was  opened  which  our  host,  an  English  gentle- 
man, told  us  was  their  "  Independence"  wine,  being  of 
the  vintage  of  '76.  My  companions  all  thought  it  very- 
superior,  but,  to  me,  it  had  very  much  the  taste  of  a 
vapid  medicated  ether,  and  I  honestly  pronounced  it,  to 
my  taste,  unmitigated  trash,  and  I  remembered  to  have 
tasted,  eighteen  years  before,  a  wine  at  the  same  table 
which  had  made  the  same  impression  upon  me.  My  as- 
sociates earnestly  opposed  the  correctness  of  my  judg- 
ment, and  I  found  myself  in  a  minority  of  one.  I  ven- 
tured to  sustain  myself  by  quoting  the  opinion  of  Dr, 
Christison,  which  seems  to  be  founded  both  on  reason 
and  experience,  viz.,  that  wines  do  not  improve  by  great 
age.  Like  ourselves,  they  have  their  growth  to  their 
best  condition  and  then  deteriorate ;  but  the  period  of 
deterioration  is  different  for  different  wines,  or  under  va- 
rying circumstances  for  the  same  wine.  At  this  stage 
of  the  discussion  our  host  directed  a  bottle  to  be  brought 
with  great  care  from  a  specially  named  corner  of  the  gar- 
ret, and  when  brought  he  took  it  carefully  in  his  hand, 
drew,  and  decanted  it  himself,  and  handing  a  glass  to 
me,  he  said,  "  Now  taste  that,  and  tell  me  what  you  think 
of  it,  and  be  careful  do  n't  commit  yourself."  The  wine 
was  very  clear,  and  of  a  pale  amber  color.  I  tasted  it, 
mild,  unspirituous,  aromatic,  and  at  once  said,  "It  is  the 
best  on  the  table,  and  by  far  the  best  I  ever  tasted  in  my 
life."  It  was  then  handed  to  my  companions,  who  all 
thought  it  very  good,  but  by  no  means  equal  to  the  '76. 
Our  host  then  said,  with  an  earnestness  and  solemnity 
befitting  the  occasion,  "  It  is  a  rare  wine — a  wonderful 
wine  :  there  can  be  nothing  superior  to  it,  but  it  is  one 
hundred  years  old  p"*  and  thereafter  our  host  and  myself 
took  up  with  the  centenarian ;  but  the  Seventy-sixers, 
with  commendable  consistency,  and  perhaps  from  patri- 


40  THEVOYAGEOUT. 

Otic  motives,  stuck  to  their  first  jnclgment.  How  much 
honest  juclgmcnt,  or  that  enemy  to  progress,  pride  of 
opinion,  had  to  do  with  our  pertinacity,  none  of  us  will 
ever  know. 

In  even  all  this  tasting  there  had  been  but  little  wine- 
drinking — none  of  that  reeking  debauchery  unfortunately 
so  often  seen  in  our  own  country,  which  mars,  blunts,  and 
vitiates  the  palate,  and  makes  wine  really  grateful  only 
from  the  amount  of  alcohol  it  conveys,  and  brandy  itself 
more  grateful  than  wine.  It  is,  however,  somewhat  to 
our  credit  that  the  best  Madeira,  and  that  the  least  bran- 
died,  is  sent  to  the  United  States,  and  besides  coming  to 
us  the  best,  our  cUmate  improves  it  more  than  that  of 
Europe  does. 

I  trust  that  honestly-observed  facts  in  relation  to  the 
character  of  wmes,  and  in  reference  to  the  social  habits 
of  an  eminently  wine-drinking  country,  will  not  be  con- 
sidered as  a  eulogium  upon  its  use,  but  if  those  who  use 
wine  habitually  in  the  United  States  all  used  it  as  I  have 
seen  it  used  in  Madeira,  temperance  men  might  rejoice ; 
but  upon  that  "if"  the  propriety  of  its  use  may  depend. 

"  Bright  are  tlio  blushes  of  the  wine- wreathed  bowl, 
"Warm  with  the  sunsliine  of  Anacreon's  soul ; 
But  dearer  memories  gild  the  tasteless  wave 
That  fainting  Sidney  perished  as  he  gave. 
'Tis  the  heart's  current  lends  the  cup  its  glow, 
What  e'er  the  fountain  whence  the  draught  may  flow." 

It  would  really  seem  as  if  the  hand  of  Providence  was 
du'ecting  physical  influences  in  favor  of  total  abstinence 
by  the  blight  which  has  come  over  the  grapes  in  wine- 
producing  countries.  Upon  a  former  visit  to  this  island 
I  rode  to  the  Great  Curral  or  Curral  das  Freiras,  an  en- 
ormous chasm,  which  seems,  when  it  first  bursts  upon 
you,  to  open  to  the  earth's  centre,  with  its  six  thousand 


WINE.  41 

feet  of  depth  inclosed  by  the  red,  rugged  pinnacled  rocks 
shooting  away  to  the  clear  sky  above  you  ;  but  away 
down  in  the  bottom  of  the  depth  you  see  miniature 
houses  and  a  church,  and  they  ai'e  two  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea. 

It  is  a  long  up-hill  ride  of  eighteen  miles  to  the  point 
which  looks  down  into  the  Curral,  and  much  of  it  is  along 
the  edge  of  frightful  precipices,  and  much  of  it  also,  when 
I  made  the  excursion,  was  through  vineyards  where  vines 
arbored  over  the  road,  or  trellis  work,  and  hung  their 
rich  bunches  just  above  your  head  and  ready  to  your 
hand.  But  now  such  scenery  no  longer  exists.  The 
prophecy  of  Joel  the  son  of  Bethuel  is  in  literal  fulfill- 
ment. "  Awake,  ye  drunkards,  and  weep  and  howl,  all 
ye  drinkers  of  wine,  because  of  the  new  wine  ;  for  it  is 
cut  off  from  your  mouth."  For  four  years  this  wine- 
press has  not  been  trodden,  and  the  vine,  fruit,  leaf  and 
stem,  has  disapj^eared.  The  annual  product  of  the  island 
was  from  fifteen  to  twenty  thousand  pij^es,  and  this  past 
year  not  two  hundred  were  made  in  the  whole  island. 
The  whole  stock  on  hand  is  only  about  ten  thousand 
pipes,  not  more  than  the  half  of  one  good  year's  product, 
and  this  will  be  exhausted  in  from  five  to  ten  years ;  even 
if  the  grape  were  to  be  recovered  now,  it  would  take 
several  years  before  the  new  wine  would  be  fit  for  ex- 
portation. The  disease,  a  mould  or  fungoid  growth,  has 
so  far  resisted  all  methods  of  cure,  and  scarcely  more 
than  a  lingering  hope  exists  of  the  recovery  of  the  vine  ; 
this  hope  would  have  the  more  encouragement  if  they 
could  ascertain  certainly  that  the  disease  had  ever  ex- 
isted before  and  passed  away,  but  although  documents 
and  records  have  been  carefully  searched,  the  only  evi- 
dence of  the  kind  is  in  some  old  leases  which  specify  that 
the  rent  is  to  be  paid  unless  a  fiiilure  of  the  grape  occur. 

It  is  well  known  that  in  the  first  year  of  the  present 


42  THE     VOYAGE      OUT. 

failure  great  distress  and  famine  prevailed  in  the  island, 
which  was  relieved  by  contributions  from  various  parts 
of  the  world,  and  especially  from  the  United  States,  by 
the  introduction  of  the  sugar-cane,  sweet  potatoes  and 
other  roots  and  fruits,  abundance  of  which,  at  low  rates, 
are  now  found  in  the  markets.  The  Irish  potatoes  are  of 
very  superior  quality,  equal  to  the  best  in  any  part  of  the 
world.  Those  which  are  of  the  first  quality  are  the  pvo- 
duct  of  seed  sent  out  from  the  United  States  during  the 
famine. 

I  suppose  it  would  not  do  to  talk  about  Madeira 
and  not  say  any  thing  of  the  extent  of  population,  al- 
though any  gazetteer  would  give  the  information.  That 
of  the  island  is  a  little  over  one  hundred  thousand,  and 
that  of  Funchal  about  eighteen  thousand.  But  there  has 
been  much  emigration,  diminishing  the  population.  Fam- 
ine drove  away  many.  Demerara,  ofiering  a  premium  for 
laborers,  drew  off  many  ;  and  a  recent  Protestant  reforma- 
tion has  driven  from  their  kindred  and  genial  home,  to  the 
wilds  of  America,  several  hundred  martyrs  for  conscience' 
sake.    And  as,  like  our  own  Pilgrim  fathers,  they  sought 

"  Freedom  to  worship  God," 

may  their  descendants  be  equally  rewarded.  Although 
the  changed  agriculture  of  the  island  has  removed  the 
aj^prehension  of  starvation,  yet  the  destruction  of  trade 
and  commerce  caused  by  the  wine  blight  has  necessarily 
brought  poverty  to  very  many,  and  to  some  who  have 
been  in  elevated  and  prosperous  circumstances.  The 
female  members  of  such  families,  turning  to  account  the 
exquisite  skill  in  embroidery  for  which  they  are  cele- 
brated, devote  themselves  to  the  working  of  edgings, 
handkerchiefs,  collars,  sleeves,  etc.,  which  are  sold  by 
their  servants  to  the  strangers  visiting  the  island.  If  the 
very  low  price  at  which  this  fine  work  is  offered  were  not 


WINE.  43 

an  inducement  for  those  who  can  afford  it,  to  buy,  the  re- 
flection that  one  is  at  once  gratifying  his  own  taste  and 
relieving  a  necessity,  ought  to  be. 

Among  the  light  manufactures  of  the  island  a  variety 
of  beautifully  manufactured  baskets  are  industriously 
offered  to  strangers  at  very  low  rates,  by  street  peddlers. 
Their  mechanics  also  excel  in  the  manufacture  of  inlaid 
wood  work.  Paper  cutters,  card  cases,  work  boxes,  writ- 
ing desks  and  tables  are  beautifully  made  in  varied  col- 
ors. The  ground  is  generally  of  the  black  Til  wood,  and 
that  is  preferred  which  has  darkened  by  age  in  some  old 
wine  jDress.  It  is  inlaid  with  red  cedar,  orange,  and 
other  bright-colored  woods.  Centre  tables  made  in  this 
way,  with  vine  wreaths  inlaid,  are  exceedingly  beautiful, 
and  cost  about  thirty  dollars.  According  to  the  fitness 
of  things,  and  the  tendency  of  our  ordinary  experience, 
one  expects  to  see  a  water-mill  at  the  foot  of  a  hill  or  on 
the  edge  of  a  stream  passing  through  a  valley.  In  one 
of  ray  rides  with  a  friend  up  a  steep  hill  side,  I  saw  before 
me  two  red  painted  wooden  tubes,  coopered  up  like  bar- 
rels, but  about  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  high.  They  were 
at  the  extremity  of  a  stone  wall.  The  wall  inclosed  the 
little  mountain  stream  which  plunged  in  at  the  top  of 
these  tubes,  turned  a  wheel  at  their  bottom,  and  was  the 
power  of  the  mill  which  ground  the  corn  and  wheat  of 
the  neighborhood. 

During  this,  my  last  ride  in  the  island,  we  passed  the 
large  and  elegant  estate  of  a  rich  widow,  whoso  history, 
illustrating,  more  than  a  little,  island  romance,  may  not 
unfitly  close  our  visit  to  Madeira.  The  possessor  of  this 
estate  and  spacious  mansion  formerly  came  down  from 
the  mountain  a  barefooted  peasant  girl,  laden  with  bun- 
dles or  faggots  of  small  wood,  which  she  sold  in  the  town. 
Tempted  by  a  wealthy  individual,  somewhat  advanced  in 
life,  she  exchanged  her  hard  and  laborious  existence  for 


44  THEVOTAQEOUT. 

a  move  luxurions  but  less  honorable  position,  but  which 
finally  terminated  in  her  becoming  the  wife  of  her  pro- 
tector. After  his  death  she  married  a  lawyer  of  talents 
and  rising  fame.  He  finally  became  the  governor  of  the 
island,  and  the  once  barefooted,  faggot-burdened  peasant 
girl  filled  her  distinguished  position  with  a  courtly  grace 
and  elegance  which  my  informant  said  none  others  had 
excelled,  and  this  among  a  peculiarly  courtly  and  formal 
people.  What  then  becomes  of  the  opinions  of  those 
who  think  that  one  must  be  "  to  the  manner  born"  to  fill 
such  stations  without  the  stamp  of  awkwardness  and  vul- 
garity? 


VI. 

CINDERS     AND     LAVA. 

Get  down  the  map,  my  good  reader,  and  unless  you 
have  the  whole  world  dotted  and  spotted  geographically 
in  your  eye,  look  out  the  little  island  of  Ascension,  in 
mid- Atlantic  ocean,  between  the  coasts  of  Afiica  and 
South  America,  almost  upon  the  equatorial  division  of 
this  planet  of  ours,  just  a  Httle  south  of  the  Lme.  Unless 
you  not  only  understand  but  feel  the  wideness  and  wild- 
ness  of  its  desolation,  the  tiny  minuteness  of  its  size,  eight 
miles  in  its  longest  dimensions,  and  with  one  mountain 
peak,  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighteen  feet 
above  the  sea — unless  you  have  all  this  before  you,  and 
at  the  same  time  the  cindeiy,  hard,  dry,  sterile  character 
of  the  island,  you  can  not  feel  the  greatness  of  its  in- 
terest. 

It  must  be  among  the  youngest  of  Pluto's  volcanic 
children,  for  there  stand  all  around  it  and  through  it 
black  and  red  volcanic  cones  of  pumice,  cinders,  and  cal- 


CINDERS     AND     LAVA.  45 

cined  iron  ores,  with  ashy,  dry,  dusty  plains  between 
them,  iSTo  moisture,  no  vegetation,  no  verdure,  except 
on  the  summit  of  the  "Green  Mountain,"  which  rises 
fresh  and  beautiful  amid  all  this  barrenness,  and  is  the 
heart  of  all  the  usefulness  of  Ascension. 

This  is  one  of  the  tapping  places  for  the  drum  of  our 
great  ancestral  nation,  whose  "  beat  salutes  the  rising  sun 
ai'ound  the  cu-cumference  of  the  globe." 

When  the  world-sin  of  caging  the  great  Napoleon  in 
St.  Helena  was  perpetrated,  the  EngHsh  occupied  Ascen- 
sion as  a  military  station,  and  out  of  the  evil  necessity, 
by  the  blessing  of  God,  has  sprung  a  great  good.  With 
characteristic  energy  they  developed  and  created  re- 
sources of  inestimable  value  in  that  lonely  ocean.  The 
arable  land  that  lies  around  the  summit  of  "  Green  Moun- 
tain" has  been  brought  under  cultivation,  seeds  and  plants 
imported,  so  that  now  the  garrison  not  only  has  enough 
for  itself,  but  sufficient  to  refresh  those  who  come  in  from 
the  surrounding  ocean  wastes.  More  than  that,  they 
have  collected  the  drippings  and  moisture  from  the 
mountain,  and  brought  them  down,  by  thirty-three  thou- 
sand feet  of  three  and  a  half  inch  iron  pipe,  to  tanks 
near  the  shore,  from  which  ships  of  all  nations  in  urgent 
necessity  are  supplied  with  this  necessary  of  existence  in 
its  purest  form.  But  water,  the  supply  of  which  is  de- 
pendent upon  casual  rains,  and  might  be  cut  oif  by  a 
drought,  is  too  precious  an  article  to  be  recklessly  wasted, 
and  therefore  it  is  under  almost  as  rigid  a  surveillance  sts 
it  would  be  on  board  ship.  The  tanks,  even  the  small 
ones  of  the  officers'  quarters,  arc  under  lock  and  key,  and 
the  allowance  to  each  person  on  the  island  is  limited  for 
all  pui*poses — one  gallon  a  day  for  drinking,  and  four 
gallons  a  week  for  laundry  purposes.  Occasionally  the 
island  has  been  threatened  with  a  fatal  want  of  water, 
and  upon  one  occasion  water  was  brought  from  St.  He- 


46  THliVOYAGKOUT. 

lena,  a  distance  of  about  six  hundred  miles.  They  have, 
however,  a  distilling  apparatus,  which  would  prevent  any 
urgent  sufteriug.  To  make  most  available  the  limited 
resources  of  the  place,  no  one  is  permitted  to  settle  on 
the  island  but  those  under  the  control  and  in  the  employ 
of  the  government,  and  every  thing  produced  on  the 
island,  even  the  turtles  which  land  upon  its  shores,  is 
the  property  of  the  government.  Among  the  public 
buildings  is  a  good  hosj)ital,  indeed  two  of  them,  one  for 
convalescents  in  the  cool  air  of  the  mountain  summit,  and 
a  deUcious  resort  in  the  healthy  dry  air  of  Ascension  for 
all  invalids,  and  especially  for  those  broken  down  by  the 
terrible  fever  of  the  African  coast,  or  by  the  ravages  of 
scurvy.  During  my  stay  of  three  days,  several  vessels 
passed  in  sight  of  the  island.  An  American  came  in,  was 
watered,  and  dej^arted  immediately.  A  French  merchant 
ship  came  in  in  consequence  of  the  illness  of  her  com- 
mander, who  was  at  once  taken  to  the  hospital. 

At  the  death  of  Xapoleon,  the  necesity  which  origina- 
ted the  occupation  of  Ascension  ceased,  but  being  so  useful 
in  relieving  the  distress  incident  to  this  mid  ocean,  it  has 
been  continued  and  made  the  depot  for  the  British  squad- 
ron on  the  coast  of  Africa.  A  large  supply  of  coal  is 
also  kept  here  for  the  use  of  ocean  steamers,  and,  like 
every  thing  else,  furnished  to  strangers  at  only  cost  and 
charges.  Our  ship  was  thus  sujiplied  with  what  coal  and 
provisions  we  needed,  besides  being  gratuitously  filled 
with  water,  and  j^resents  of  milk  and  fish  kindly  sent  oflT 
to  our  messes  by  the  oflicers  on  shore. 

The  only  aborigines  known  to  the  island  are  female 
green  turtle,  Testudo  Mydas,  and  they  are  still  held  in 
high  honor.  Upon  our  arrival  we  were  desirous  of  mak- 
ing the  usual  arrangements  for  saluting  the  British  flag, 
but  were  told  that  it  must  not  be  done,  and  no  firing  of  ^ 
guns  or  pistols  was  permitted  in  the  harbor,  lest  it  should 


CI:NDEBS     AND     LAVA.  47 

frighten  the  turtle  which,  from  December  to  June,  come 
up  on  the  island  beaches  to  lay  their  eggs.  So  that  honor 
to  aldermanic  turtle,  sunk  into  silence  the  cannon  bel- 
lowings  and  air  concussions  which  are  wont  to  tell  how 
much  greater  one  man  is  than  another.  I  wonder  when 
the  old  native  forest  Indian  nature  will  wear  out  of  our 
civilized  hearts  and  usages.  This  saluting  business,  at 
least  so  far  as  it  is  done  in  honor  of  individuals,  seems  to 
me  one  of  the  most  silly  and  undignified  Indianings,  to 
make  a  word,  which  our  higher  cultivated  nature  retains. 
And  a  particularly  ridiculous  effect  of  the  custom  is  the 
fact  of  two  great  and  grave  nations  disputing,  because 
they  can  not  determine  which  of  then*  captains  ought  to 
fire  most  guns  for  the  other.  Why  not  end  the  matter 
by  saying,  "  We  think  our  man  ought  to  have  so  many 
guns,  and  you  think  your  man  ought  to  have  so  many  ; 
we  will  not  take  any  offense  at  the  difference  of  opinion 
— indeed  it  is  fortunate,  because  we  can  comiDromise 
without  firing  at  all,  and  save  our  powder  for  more  useful 
purposes."  The  Ascension  Turtle  custom  is  by  far  the 
most  sensible.  The  stars  and  stripes  looked  just  as  bright, 
the  cross  of  St.  George  kept  its  place  at  the  peak  of  the 
Tortoise,  the  harbor  ship.  Commodore  Armstrong  of  the 
San  Jacinto,  and  Captain  Seymour,  Governor  of  the  island, 
were  unshaken  in  their  places  or  their  dignity,  and  our 
magazines  were  the  richer  for  so  much  powder.  Reve- 
nons  a  nos  tortues.  In  the  season  they  come  up  on 
the  sand  beaches  between  the  rocks,  particularly  on 
moonlight  nights,  and  crawling  high  up  on  the  sand,  with 
their  flippers  dig  a  hole  ten  feet  wide  by  two  deep,  and 
depositing  their  eggs,  70  or  80  in  number,  cover  them  and 
turn  again  to  the  sea.  But  on  each  of  these  beaches,  of 
which  there  are  five,  look-outs  are  statioijed,  and  these 
"utting  off  the  turtle  on  her  way  to  the  sea,  turn  her  on 
her  back.    In  the  morning,  all  so  captured,  are  carted  to 


48  TUEVOYAGEOUT. 

ponds  walled  oft"  from  the  sea.  Tliey  are  thus  preserved 
for  victualing  the  island  and  ships,  aud  are  rationed  to 
the  inhabitants  twice  a  week.  The  average  number  taken 
each  season,  for  many  years  past,  is  513.  In  one  year 
over  1200  were  taken.  In  1854  there  wei'e  taken  in 
Januai-y  101,  in  February  175,  and  in  March  196 — total, 
472.  The  young  ones  as  soon  as  hatched,  which  is  in  five 
weeks,  take  immediately  to  the  sea,  and  it  is  remarkable 
that  none  ever  return  but  the  females,  and  these  not  until 
they  have  reached  from  500  to  700  lbs.  weight.  No 
small  ones  are  ever  seen.  How  long  are  they  in  reach- 
ing this  immense  size  ?  Where  are  they  in  the  meantime 
and  where  are  the  males  ?  I  was  told  that  a  turtle 
marked  on  this  island  had  been  captured  on  the  coast  of 
California.  It  is  also  remarkable  that  although  all  or 
nearly  all  which  come  up  are  taken,  yet  about  the  same 
number  comes  up  each  year.  These  large  turtles  give 
about  150  lbs.  of  meat,  and  have  one  fixed  price,  about 
twelve  and  a  half  dollars  each.  An  ofiicer  who  has  served 
his  term  of  duty  here,  say  three  years,  has  the  j^rivilege 
of  taking  two  turtles  home  with  him.  The  inhabitants 
of  Ascension,  including  those  on  board  the  harbor  ship, 
the  "  Tortoise,"  number  about  four  hundred,  every  one  of 
whom  is  necessarily  borne  upon  the  books  of  the  pay- 
master, as  they  are  all  \Hctualed  by  him. 

Among  the  inhabitants  are  a  number  of  native  Africans, 
Kroomen,  Avho  do  all  the  hard  labor,  that  which,  in  their 
absence,  would  be  done  by  the  common  sailors  and 
soldiers,  so  that  still  the  children  of  Ham,  though  fi*ee, 
are  the  hewers  of  wood  and  the  drawers  of  water,  the 
servant  of  servants  for  Japhet.  The  worthy  and  excel- 
lent Chaplain  of  the  island  introduced  me  to  a  school  in 
which  some  sys:  or  eight  of  these  Uberated  Africans  were 
being  educated,  and  had  learned  to  read  and  write  toler- 
ably well. 


CINDEES     AND     LAVA.  49 

Whilst  taking  our  walks  round  about  and  among  the 
neat  one  story  buildings,  used  as  officers'  quarters,  in  their 
midst  we  came  to  one  in  front  of  which  sits  a  large  portly 
negress,  and  the  whole  estabUshment,  from  parlor  to  kit- 
chen, is  evidently  in  possession  of  Africans.  We  enter. 
Bow  your  heads  reverently,  all  ye  disciples  of  Hume, 
Sir  Walter  Scott  and  Sir  Archibald  Alison,  all  ye  ven- 
erators of  divine  right,  for  you  are  in  the  presence  of 
royalty.  This  is  the  residence  of  the  King  of  Bonny,  in 
Africa,  a  state  prisoner  to  the  Queen  of  England,  and  the 
portly  lady  who  received  us  so  graciously  is  his  queen,  or 
one  of  them.  In  court  language,  he  received  us  gra- 
ciously, and  asking  us  to  be  seated,  he  directed  ^ine  to 
be  handed  to  us  and  to  himself  Speaking  English  im- 
perfectly, he  asked  us  our  names  and  occupations,  and 
manifested  much  satisfaction  that  we  had  done  him  or 
ourselves  the  honor,  whichever  it  was,  of  calling  on  him. 
He  is  said  to  be  a  man  of  wealth  and  influence  in  his  own 
country,  and  the  British  government  allows  him  four 
thousand  dollars  a  year  Avhile  in  cajativity.  But  his  ma- 
jesty does  not  like  the  gilded  cage  :  he  wants  to  get  out. 
There  did  not  seem  to  be  any  clear  reason  why  the  King 
of  Bonny  was  in  captivity.  The  nearest  approach  I  could 
make  to  the  cause  of  it  was,  that  British  merchants 
wanted  to  buy  all  the  palm  oil  at  lower  rates  than  he 
would  dispose  of  it  or  allow  it  to  be  sold  by  his  subjects ; 
therefore  he  was  imprisoned  for  interfering  with  trade. 
At  first  he  was  kept  upon  the  coast,  but  managing  to 
send  an  order  to  his  dominions,  still  prohibiting  the  sale 
on  any  but  his  own  terms,  it  was  thought  expedient  to 
send  him  more  remote  from  his  dominions.  He  himself 
said  the  English  were  great  rascals,  they  shut  the  Emperor 
Napoleon  up  in  St.  Helena,  and  him  in  Ascension.  The 
truth  is,  the  principle  is  the  same  in  both  cases,  only  the 
magnitude  of  the  Napoleonic  crime  makes  the  parallel  of 

3 


50  TliK     VOYAGE     OUT. 

Lis  soble  mnjcsty  ridiculous.  The  officers  at  Ascension 
spoke  of  his  confinement  as  an  injustice. 

Wo  were  told  of  a  singular  sea  phenomenon  which 
sometimes  occurs  at  Ascension  and  St.  Helena.  Having 
no  opportunity  of  witnessing  it  I  quote  the  follo^ving  de- 
sci-iption,  by  a  Mr.  Webster,  from  Purdy's  Ethiopic  Direc- 
tory.    He  says : 

"  One  of  the  most  interesting  phenomena  that  the 
island  affords  is  that  of  the  Rollers;  in  other  words  a 
heavy  swell,  producing  a  high  surf  on  the  leeward  shores 
of  the  island,  occurring  without  any  apparent  cause.  All 
is  tranquil  in  the  distance,  the  sea  breeze  scarcely  rip- 
ples the  surface  of  the  wave,  when  a  high  swelling  wave 
is  suddenly  observed  rolling  towards  the  island.  At  first 
it  appears  to  move  slowly  forward,  till  at  length  it  breaks 
on  the  outer  reefs.  The  swell  then  increases,  wave  urges 
on  wave,  until  it  reaches  the  beach,  where  it  bursts  with 
tremendous  fury.  The  Rollers  now  set  in  and  augment 
in  violence  until  they  attain  a  terrific  and  awful  gi-andeur, 
affording  a  magnificent  sight  to  the  spectator,  and  one 
which  I  have  witnessed  with  mingled  terror  and  delight. 
A  towering  sea  rolls  forward  on  the  island  like  a  vast 
ridge  of  waters,  threatening  as  it  were  to  envelope  it ; 
pile  on  pile  succeeds  with  resistless  force,  until  meeting 
with  the  rushing  offset  from  the  shore  beneath  they  rise 
Hke  a  wall  and  are  dashed  with  impetuous  fury  on  the 
long  line  of  the  coast,  producing  a  stunning  noise.  The 
beach  is  now  mantled  over  with  foam,  the  mighty  waters 
swee])  over  the  plain,  and  the  very  houses  in  the  town  are 
shaken  by  the  fury  of  the  waves.  But  the  principal 
beauty  of  the  scene  consists  in  the  continuous  ridge  of 
water,  crested  on  its  summit  with  foam  and  spray ;  for, 
as  the  wind  blows  off  the  shore,  the  overarching  top  of 
the  wa-v'e  meets  resistance,  and  is  carried,  as  it  were,  back 
0 gainst  the  curl  of  the  swell;  and  thus  it  plays  elegantly 


CINDERS     AND     LAVA.  51 

above  it  as  it  rolls  furiously  onward,  graceful  as  a  bend- 
ing j^lume;  while,  to  add  more  to  its  beauty,  the  sun- 
beams are  reflected  from  it,  in  all  the  varied  tints  of  the 
rainbow. 

"  Amid  the  tranquillity  which  prevails  around,  it  is  a 
matter  of  speculation  to  accoimt  for  this  commotion  ot 
the  waters,  as  great  as  if  the  most  awful  tempest  or  the 
wildest  hurricane  had  swept  the  bosom  of  the  deep.  It 
occurs  in  situations  where  no  such  swell  would  be  ex- 
pected, in  sheltered  bays  and  where  the  wind  never 
reaches  the  shore.  The  strong  and  well  built  jetty  of  the 
town  has  once  been  washed  away  by  the  Rollers,  which 
sometimes  make  a  complete  breach  over  it,  although  it  is 
twenty  feet  above  high  water  mark.  On  these  occasions 
the  crane  at  its  extremity  is  washed  around  in  various 
directions,  as  the  weather-cock  is  turned  by  the  wind,  and 
landing  becomes  imjDracticable  for  the  space  of  two  or 
three  days.  Such  are  the  Rollers  of  Ascension,  and 
like  unto  them  are  those  of  St.  Helena  and  Fernando 
Noronha. 

"  The  season  in  which  the  Rollers  prevail  is  from  De- 
cember to  April,  not  but  that  they  do  occur  at  other 
periods,  and  they  have  been  felt  severely  in  July.  Ships 
at  the  anchorage  are  perfectly  secure,  and  they  have  to 
apprehend  no  danger  unless  within  the  immediate  influ- 
ence of  the  breakers.  Not  only  are  the  seasons  of  the 
Rollers  the  same  at  Ascension  and  St.  Helena,  but  they 
sometimes  are  simultaneous  in  occurrence.  The  Chanti- 
cleer, while  at  anchor  at  St.  Helena  on  the  17th  and  18th 
of  January,  1 830,  experienced  some  very  high  Rollers.  On 
our  subsequent  arrival  at  Ascension  I  inspected  the  me- 
teorological journal  of  my  friend  Mitchell,  the  surgeon  of 
the  island,  and  found  it  noted  that  the  Rollers  Avero  so 
high  on  the  15th,  16th,  and  17th  of  January  that  landing 
was  impossible.     Here  then  is  a  coincidence  as  to  time." 


52  TIIEVOYAGKOUT. 

The  cause  of  the  Rollers  has  been  speculated  upon,  and 
various  conjectures  formed  of  them.  Some  have  attri- 
buted them  to  the  eflects  of  the  moon, 

"  ■Whom  Ocean  feels  through  all  his  countless  waves, 
And  owns  her  power  on  every  sphere  he  laves  ;" 

and  others  have  attributed  them  to  the  tides  ;  but  it  is 
evident  these  have  nothing  to  do  with  them.  They  occur 
in  the  most  tranquil  season  of  the  year,  when  the  south- 
east trade-wind  is  very  light,  when  the  vast  volume  of 
water  is  impelled  in  one  direction.  There  is  then  a  tend- 
ency to  a  back-set,  or  to  a  rush  of  water  in  a  contrary 
direction,  and  a  tumultuous  sw^ell  is  produced  whenever 
it  meets  with  the  resistance  from  the  islands,  and  banks 
upon  which  they  are  based,  as  well  as  the  shores  of  a  con- 
tinent. The  long,  steep  beaches  of  Ascension  are  admir- 
ably adapted  for  the  full  display  of  the  ejSect  which  has 
just  been  described. 

Having  been  hospitably  welcomed  by  the  gentlemen  on 
shore,  and  on  board  the  harbor  ship  the  "  Tortoise,"  on 
the  12th  of  December  we  closed  our  relations  with  them, 
and  took  our  departure  from  Ascension. 

As  I  looked  back  upon  its  red  hills  and  green  central 
mountain,  I  thought  it  somewhat  emblematic  of  the  people 
whose  flag  it  bore.  Planting  themselves  with  volcanic 
energy  and  violence  in  the  most  remote  wastes  of  the 
ocean,  but  with  hearts  and  minds  a  central  source  of  fresh- 
ness and  vigor,  reanimating  the  ages  of  the  dead  past,  and 
from  the  ashes  and  cinders  of  an  extinct  civilization  call- 
ing up  that  which  is  new,  energetic,  and  of  world-wide 
usefulness. 

Having  steamed  out  of  the  port,  our  fires  were  put  out, 
the  clanking  of  the  engine  ceased,  and  sail  was  made  on 
the  ship.  It  was  now  pretty  generally  understood  that 
instead  of  steaming  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  which 


CINDEES     AND     LAVA.  53 

would  require  about  eighteen  days,  we  were  to  sail  there, 
which  would  occupy  from  thirty  to  forty.  Besides,  to 
make  the  winds  fair,  we  were  necessarily  compelled  to 
steer  away  ivom  our  jjoint  of  destination,  or  at  best  to 
make  a  right-angled  instead  of  a  diagonal  course  to  it, 
conditions  not  gratifying  to  those  impatient  of  long  sea 
voyages.  However,  good  fortune  was  with  us,  and  the 
wind  diverted  us  less  from  our  course  than  we  might  have 
expected.  On  Christmas  day,  it  is  true,  we  had  made  only 
about  five  hundred  miles,  not  quite  so  much,  on  our  way,  al- 
though we  had  sailed  about  one  thousand  four  hundred,  but 
the  day  was  a  beautiful  specimen  of  the  charming  climate 
which  had  been  around  us,  and  which  might  well  tempt 
us  to  dally  on  our  way  to  the  Indies.  The  sea  was  smooth 
as  a  lake,  and  vnth  the  blue  transparency  of  a  clear  atmos- 
phere, the  south-east  trade-vnnd  was  gentle  and  steady, 
and  the  temperature,  although  the  sun  was  vertical,  in 
harmony  with  every  sensation  of  comfort,  without  impart 
ing  the  least  feehng  of  languor  and  lassitude.  Thermo- 
metrically  it  was  steadily  76°  Fahrenheit. 

Our  whole  ship's  company  greeted  the  first  hour  of  this 
festal  day,  for  just 'before  midnight  the  drums  beat  to 
night  quarters,  and  roused  every  one  from  his  slumbers. 
And  when  Christmas  came,  on  board  the  San  Jacinto,  it 
was  amid  the  rolling  of  the  big  guns,  the  sounding  of  rattles 
to  call  away  boarders,  or  the  ringing  of  bells  to  extinguish 
imaginary  fires.  This  lasted  nearly  two  hours,  when  the 
retreat  was  sounded,  and  all  except  the  watch  again  re- 
tired to  rest.  On  the  following  day  all  labor  in  the  ship 
Avas  suspended,  and  the  men  generally  occupied  themselves 
in  reading  under  the  shade  of  the  awnings,  the  band  play- 
ing old  familiar  tunes,  and  most  of  us  talked  much  and 
thought  more  of  our  distant  homes.  But  then  fine  nights 
are  an  enjoyment,  and  the  Southern  Cross  glitters  like  a 
jewel  on  the  dark  brow  of  the  firmament  for  our  admiration 


64  T  II  E     V  O  T  A  a  E     O  U  T  . 

— but  admiration  is  not  aftection,  and  we  world-wide  wan- 
derers have  even  astronomical  allections. 

"Look,"  said  one  of  my  lieutenant  friends  to  me,  a 
few  nights  before  we  crossed  the  line,  "  at  that  little  dim 
star  in  the  north.  It  is  the  last  night  perhaps  you  will 
see  it  for  some  time  to  come." 

The  belt  of  clouds  and  rain  which  intervenes  between 
the  trade-wind  of  the  northern  and  those  of  the  southern 
hemisphere  shut  out  the  north  star  sooner  than  we  would 
lose  it  by  our  progress  south,  and  as  the  unpretending 
emblem  of  fidelity,  associated  with  our  northern  home, 
sank  behind  the  dark  curtain,  we  felt  like  parting  from  an 
old  and  tried  friend,  and  by  no  means  fovorably  inclined 
to  the  brilliant  seductions  of  the  Southern  Cross,  It  is 
natural  for  travelers  to  see  every  thing  in  exaggeration, 
both  because  it  is  new  and  because  we  have  an  associated 
importance  with  that  of  the  wonders  we  see,  but  never- 
theless I  am  bound  to  agree  with  the  sententious  remark 
of  a  practical  friend  who,  upon  seeing  the  constellation 
for  the  fii-st  time,  said  it  was  "  no  great  shakes"  after  all. 
It  may  be  that  I  judge  it  under  the  indignation  of  its 
usurping  the  place  of  my  northern  friend,  but  it  is  neither 
proportioned,  straight  in  its  ai*ms,  nor  brilliant  in  the  four 
stars  only  which  make  it  up.  It  bears  no  comparison  with 
our  Ursa  Major,  and  at  least  half  a  dozen  as  good  crosses 
may  be  imagined  in  any  part  of  the  heavens. 

Our  pleasant  meteorological  condition  continued  up  to 
the  20th  of  the  month,  when  the  wind  came  out  ahead 
and  chilly.  We  were  turned  towards  Cape  Horn,  the 
sea  rolled  up  into  fresh,  brisk  waves,  pitching  the  ship 
into  uneasy  motions,  and  stirring  up  bilge-water.  The 
air  ports,  those  precious  round  holes  which,  about  the 
size  of  a  breakfast  plate,  let  in  the  air  and  light  to  om' 
dungeons,  were  closed — thick  glass  plates  screwed  into 
them,  shutting  out  of  course   all  air,  and  reducing  the 


CINDEK8     AND     LAVA,  55 

light  to  that  dim,  watery  kind  of  a  gleam  which  must 
reach  the  fishes  in  their  sea  depths.  Albatrosses,  too, 
were  sailing  magnificently  through  the  air,  and  skim- 
ming the  cresting  waves.  Some  of  our  sensitive  natures 
thought  themselves  sea-sick,  and  resorted  to  small  glasses 
of  porter,  brandy  and  water,  and  horizontal  positions. 

That  little  puff  did  not  last  long,  and  now,  January  1st, 
185G,  we  have  another  beautiful  day,  but  oh  !  so  tiresome. 
We  have  made  nothing  on  our  way.  Here  we  are,  about 
where  we  have  been  for  a  week  past,  and  with  plenty  of 
coal  in  our  bunkers,  a  smooth  sea,  through  which  our  en- 
gines could  urge  us  without  impediment;  our  port  only 
about  ten  days  off.  Yet  here  we  lay.  The  same  daily 
routine :  rise  at  six  bells,  seven  o'clock — hear  the  drums 
roll  for  the  men's  grog,  while  shaving — breakfast  at  eight 
— quaiters  for  inspection  at  two  bells,  nine  o'clock — this 
lasts  ten  minutes — then  the  Doctor  prescribes,  and  every 
one  goes  to  what  he  has  to  do,  some  to  duty,  and  others 
to  reading,  sleeping,  smoking,  walking  the  deck,  and 
no  more  break  in  the  day  until  the  drum  again  rolls  for 
grog  at  seven  bells,  half  past  eleven  o'clock,  and  the  Mas- 
ter gets  an  observation  of  the  sun  at  meridian,  when  he 
tells  us  all  it  is  twelve  o'clock,  and  mechanically  remarks 
what  the  latitude  is,  and  the  men  are  whistled  or  piped 
to  dinner  —  then  we  read,  and  sleep,  and  walk  again. 
Then,  at  four  bells,  two  o'clock,  the  drum  beats  to  our 
dinner,  and  this  is  a  grand  event,  not  as  a  dinner,  but  as 
a  time  mark.  We  grumble  at  our  food  and  the  Caterer, 
criticise  our  captain  and  commodore  in  particular,  and  all 
other  captains  and  commodores  in  general ;  are  very  wise 
and  learned  upon  the  books  from  which  we  have,  in  self- 
defense,  been  cramming  all  the  morning,  but  as  our  learn- 
ing is  only  for  the  occsaion,  it  wears  out  in  one  day,  and 
is  replaced  by  a  new  stock  for  the  morrow,  liy  the  way, 
I  must  expatiate  a  little  upon  this  peculiarity  of  man-of- 


50  ^IIE     VOYACtE     OUT. 

■war  students,  or  rather  readers.  If  a  man  were  to  liave  a 
sum  of  money  loaned  liini  for  a  temporary  use,  or  even 
had  suddenly  acquired  it,  and  was  to  go  about  arrogantly 
boasting  of  his  wealth,  and  despising  men  permanently  bet- 
ter oft'  but  not  so  inflated  for  the  day,  we  should  think 
him  both  silly  and  vulgar.  We  regard  it  as  such  for  the 
really  wealthy  to  obtrude  their  superiority  upon  us,  and 
it  is  no  better  taste  for  a  man  to  rush  from  his  room  and, 
with  facts  and  principles  gathered  fresh  for  the  occasion, 
obtrude  them  as  substantial  learning.  With  this  episode 
of  ward-room  ethics,  I  go  on  with  our  routine.  Dinner 
over,  more  reading,  smoking,  sleeping,  until  again  the 
drums  beat  for  evening  inspection  quarters,  after  the 
crew,  at  four  or  five  o'clock,  have  had  their  supper — ten 
minutes  at  that — the  medical  officers  do  the  evening  pre- 
scribing— the  men  have  their  hammocks  piped  down,  that 
is,  the  boatswain's  mates  blow  their  whistles  for  those  men 
to  come  and  get  their  hammocks  who  have  the  watch  be- 
low, or  whose  turn  it  is  to  sleep  in,  and  then  we  have  our 
supper — chat  a  little.  The  officers  who  have  the  mid  and 
morning  watches  soon  retire  to  their  rooms.  He  who 
has  the  sleep  in  gossips  with  those  who  have  no  watch. 
Eight  o'clock  puts  out  the  lights  on  the  berth  deck,  nine 
o'clock  extinguishes  those  of  the  steerage,  and  ten  puts 
out  ours  in  the  ward-room,  and  then  the  day  is  done. 
This,  with  daily  exercise  of  divisions  at  the  guns,  occa- 
sional drilling  in  small  arms,  and  twice  a  week  general 
quarters  for  a  grand  battle  exercise,  make  up  the  routine 
of  our  existence.  There  is  occupation  enough — ^leisure 
enough — but  the  occupation  is  an  unvarying  form,  the 
leisure,  a  weary  interval  of  wearying  pursuits.  No  fresh- 
ness, no  change,  no  novelty. 

"  Lovely  seemed  any  object  that  shoiild  sweep 
Away  the  vast,  salt,  dread,  eternal  deep." 


WATEE.  57 

Here  we  lay  upon  its  bosom  in  a  calm — the  winds  lulled, 
the  engines  and  the  engineers  rusting,  the  occupation  of 
coal-heavers  and  firemen  gone.  We  pity  Mr.  Marcy,  if 
he  wants  that  treaty  with  Siam  made.  We  pity  the  King 
of  Siam  for  the  delay  in  receiving  all  these  magnificent 
mirrors,  these  chandeliers,  and  other  presents  of  our  liberal 
minded  Uncle.  We  pity  Mr.  Harris,  who  is  delayed  in 
making  that  treaty,  and  may  be  cut  out  by  some  swifter 
keeled  nation.  We  mourn  for  Manifest  Destiny,  which  is 
so  long  delayed  in  its  diplomatic  entrance  to  Siam.  We 
mourn  for  those  who  are  awaiting  our  relief  in  the  China 
seas,  but,  most  of  all,  we  mourn  for  our  pent  up  selves, 
and  grieve  that  we  are  not  rich  enough  to  refund  to  the 
national  treasury  the  cost  of  the  coal  which  Avould  take  us 
to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

Hope — it  is  a  cheering  sentiment  for  this  New  Year's 
day,  and  a  propitious  word  to  close  this  chapter.  It  is  a  ray 
fi"om  a  future  sun  gilding  the  clouds  of  present  afiiiction. 

"  Weather  braces  !  Weather  braces  !"  cries  out  the 
officer  of  the  watch. 

"  A  fair  wind  at  last,"  says  an  officer  at  the  ward-room 
table,  looking  up  in  pleased  emotion  from  the  book  over 
which  he  was  dozing,  and  once  again  we  all  hope. 


VII. 

WATER 


"  Ludlow,  you  black  rascal,  what  are  you  at,  drawing 
water  out  of  that  filterer  ?" 

"  It 's  for  the  Doctor,  sir,"  said  my  sable  servant,  in 
reply  to  this  peremptory  demand  of  our  most  worthy 
caterer. 

3* 


58  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

"  The  Doctor  has  his  allowance,  three  pints  a  day,  and 
keeps  it  in  his  rooni ;  you  've  no  business  Avith  the  til- 
tcver— " 

"  The  Doctor  wants  to  borrow  some,  sir  ;  he  '11  'turn  it, 
sir." 

"  "Well,  take  it  along,  but  if  the  Doctor  borrows  water 
from  that  filterer,  he  must  return  it  with  interest.  Some 
is  always  wasted  bi  filtering — you  hear  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"Worse,  Mr.  Caterer,  than  Shylock.  He  took  only  the 
pound  of  flesh  nearest  the  heart,  but  you  take  interest  on 
the  fluid  of  hfe.  But  afl;er  all,  the  caterer  was  right — as 
a  just  man  he  was  right. 

It  was  only  a  few  days  before  this  interesting  conver- 
sation, that  the  Master,  the  young  gentleman  who  has 
charge  of  oiar  water  expenditure,  rushed  into  the  ward- 
room, exclaiming  with  emotion — 

"  "Well,  in  all  my  service,  this  is  the  first  time  I  have 
been  upon  an  allowance  of  water,  even  in  saihng  ships — 
but,  here,  in  a  steamer,  I  have  been  ordered  to  serve  out 
only  three  quarts  a  day  to  each  man." 

This  announcement  created  a  sensation.  Three  quarts 
a  day  is  certainly  not  a  sufiering  limitation.  Poor  Bligh 
of  the  Bounty,  with  his  boat's  crew,  got  on  with  about  a 
gill  a  day — got  along  very  uncomfortably,  it  is  true,  and 
had  no  choice.  But  Bligh  had  no  cofiee,  tea  or  soujd  to 
make.  He  had  no  hams,  pork,  beef,  codfish  to  boil,  nor 
beans  either.  He  did  not  shave  every  day  during  that 
voyage,  nor  care  much  whether  his  face  or  any  other  part 
of  his  person  were  washed.  Xow  let  any  of  you  who  tap 
the  Croton  when  you  will,  or  let  the  bucket  down  the 
mossy  well,  or  dij)  from  the  bubbling  sprmg,  make  the 
calculation  and  see  how  far  three  quarts  will  go  for  all 
these  purposes,  and  for  what  you  may  require  to  drink  on 


WATER.  59 

a  melting  summer  clay,  aud  you  will  see  there  was  cause 
for  a  sensation. 

Measures  were  to  be  taken  in  this  emergency.  "We 
were,  in  the  tropics,  the  sun  was  vertical,  our  cells  were 
close  and  sudorific.  Such  was  the  condition  of  those  of 
us  most  lucky.  But  the  men  had  to  move  about,  twice 
a  week,  with  great  actinty,  to  jduU  and  haul  at  the  great 
guns,  and  run  about  with  swords,  pikes  and  pistols  in 
their  hands — sweating  prodigiously. 

Physiologists  tell  us  that  the  skin  is  very  leaky — runs 
off  about  five  pounds  of  water  a  day ;  and  certain  work- 
men in  gas  factories  lose  from  two  to  three  pounds  an 
hour.  Six  pounds  a  day,  to  supply  such  a  run  upon  the 
fountain  of  life,  would  hardly  keep  it  solvent.  I  will 
mention  another  physiological  fact,  and  it  is,  that  when 
meix  know  themselves  to  be  on  allowance,  the  desire  for 
drink  wonderfully  increases.  Nature  resists  the  force  put 
upon  her  ;  and  if  it  must  be  done,  it  were  well  to  do  it 
secretly. 

However,  manly  hearts  meet  stern  necessities  without 
comjDlaint,  and  this  must  have  been  a  case  of  necessity. 
There  must  have  been  reasons  for  it — but  as  these  were 
none  of  our  business,  of  coui'se  we  could  not  judge  from 
them,  and  the  thinking  apparatus  is  such  a  busy  machine, 
it  will  work  upon  what  materials  it  has  for  want  of  better. 
At  one  gallon  a  day  each  man,  there  were  forty  days' 
water  in  our  ship,  and  even  trusting  to  \vinds  we  were 
not  more  than  twenty  days  from  any  supposed  port,  and 
having  coal  and  steam  could  have  commanded  our  time. 
There  was  a  mystery  in  it — a  ship  mystery  which  the 
reader  will  bye-and  bye  have  solved. 

But,  as  I  said,  measures  were  to  be  taken  in  this  emer- 
gency. There  was  our  filterer  which  avc  had  bought  to 
purify  our  drinking  water,  and  preserve  our  health — if  the 
water  was  all  put  in  that,  and  every  one  had  the  run  of 


60  T  II  E     V  O  Y  A  G  E     O  U  T  . 

it,  those  who  drank  early  would  have  an  advantage  over 
those  who  drank  late,  and  those  Avith  camel-like  capacities 
might  leave  the  less  favored  dry.  Those  of  us  who  had 
Httle  fiith,  met  this  difficulty  by  bottling  up  our  supplies 
in  our  rooms.  But  then  there  were  tea,  coffee  and  cook- 
mg  generally.  We  made  a  close  calculation,  and  agreed 
to  allow  from  our  share  one  half,  or  three  pints,  for  general 
mess  purposes;  that  left  only  three  pints  for  shaving, 
cleansing  teeth,  washing  and  drinking.  Such  were  my 
water  relations  leading  to  the  collision  between  Ludlow 
and  the  caterer. 

These  solemn  circumstances  impressed  us  seriously  ; 
and  as  at  the  ^-itching  hour  of  night,  and  in  suspected 
places,  we  have  an  irresistible  proj^ensity  to  tell  ghost 
stories,  so  we  drew  around  the  mess-table  and  told  terri- 
ble tales  of  thirst. 

Captain  Bligh,  and  his  gaunt  boat's  crew,  glided  before 
us.  One  Navy  captain,  one  of  our  Navy  captains,  was  told 
of  who  so  tenaciously  held  to  an  allowance  of  water  that 
it  held  even  in  port.  Finding  a  boat's  crew  bringing  off 
a  small  keg  for  their  own  use,  he  commanded  it  to  be 
thrown  into  the  sea.  Another  was  remembered  who 
washed  his  cabin  with  fresh  water,  while  his  crew  were 
parching  with  thirst,  and  some  of  these  sucked  the  wet 
swabs  or  mops  with  which  the  washing  had  been  done. 
These  were  all  doomed  to  Tantalian  torments  or  to  the 
scurvy  blotches  and  boils  which  they  are  supposed  to 
have  inflicted  upon  their  luckless  shipmates.  I  myself 
had  a  vision  of  my  youth.  A  beautiful  scene  in  Florida, 
a  wooded  hill-side  sloping  down  to  a  pretty  winding- 
stream,  and  just  where  the  margin  of  the  creek  washed 
the  hill-side,  shaded  by  a  branching  tree,  welled  up  a 
gurgling  spring.  There,  by  that  spring-side,  during  the 
hot  summer  days,  day  after  day,  sat  a  weather-beaten 
man.  with  an  honest  and  benevolent  countenance.      A 


WATEK.  61 

broad-brimmed  white  hat  generally  lay  on  the  ground 
beside  him,  while  the  cool  breeze  played  with  locks  which 
were  beginning  to  whiten  with  age,  although  he  was  but 
a  Lieutenant  in  the  Xavy.  He  was  a  native  of  Virginia. 
One  day  I  remarked  to  him  as  I  walked  by, 

"  This  seems  a  favorite  spot  of  yours,  Mr.  Goodwin." 
He  sjDrang  to  his  feet  and  exclaimed,  "  Sir,  it 's  a  para- 
dise. In  my  section,  sir,  are  many  such  sj^rings  as  that, 
and  I  've  been  free  to  drink  my  fill,  sir,  all  my  Ufe.  But, 
sir,  during  the  whole  of  this  *  *  *  *  cruise,  I  've 
been  on  an  allowance  of  water,  and  I  sit  here,  sir,  and  I 
drink,  drink,"  he  exclaimed  with  energy,  "till  I  can 
drink  no  more,  just  to  sjiite  Captain  C. ;  then  I  call  to 
him,  sir,  to  come  here  and  j)ut  me  on  an  allowance  if  he 
dare." 

He  sat  down  agaui  remai-king,  "  Yes,  sir,  this  j)lace 
resembles  my  section  very  much."     Poor  Goodwin  ! 

"  The  moasy  marbles  rest 
Upon  M3  breast 

Long  ago ;" 

and  I  suspect  it  must  be  near  some  one  of  the  cool,  bub- 
bling springs  of  his  section. 

The  allowance  of  water,  by  strict  economy  and  some 
privation,  got  along  pretty  well  for  a  day  or  two.  The 
first  visible  effect  of  it  was  ethical.  Many  moralists 
contend  that  there  is  a  close  sympathy  between  a  clean 
skin  and  rectitude  of  deportment.  Be  that  as  it  may,  one 
of  the  messes  found  that  its  whole  allowance  had  been 
stolen  early  in  the  day,  and  had  to  ask  a  fresh  supply. 

The  next  was  chemical.  Salines  preponderated  in  the 
blood.  Ham  and  mackerel  for  breasfast,  ham,  tongue, 
salt  beef  and  pork  for  dinner,  were  found  to  be  aque- 
ducts which  ran  off"  the  whole  supply  before  the  day  was 
done,  and  we  were  limited  to  those  delectable   unifor- 


62  TIIEVOYAGEOUT. 

raities  put  up  in  tin  cans,  wliose  chief  distinction  is  the 
hvbels  on  the  outside.  I  will  except  the  lobster,  the  sal- 
mon and  the  soups. 

Next  came  a  meeting  at  the  mast  between  a  delegate 
from  the  ship's  company,  the  officer  of  the  deck  and  the 
First  Lieutenant.  The  men  had  found  out  that  rice  and 
beans  w^re  great  soakers,  and  sponged  too  heavily  upon 
their  limited  means,  and  therefore  wanted  permission  to 
leave  them  in  Uncle  Sam's  possession,  restricting  their 
diet  to  salt  meat  alone.  The  men  had  no  tin  cans  of  fresh 
meats.  So  far,  at  least,  we  were  better  oft'  than  the 
men. 

Sometimes  I  got  very  tu-ed  of  my  cell  life,  and  by  way 
of  change  would  develop — ascend  to  the  region  of  sover- 
eignty, and  make  a  call  upon  my  friends,  the  Commodore 
and  the  Captain.  The  first  was  an  old  friend,  and  the  lat- 
ter I  had  known  when  he  was  midshipman ;  but  as  I  held 
the  important-sounding  title  of  "  Surgeon  of  the  Fleet," 
perhaps  I  might  have  ventured  in  there  independent  of  my 
amicable  relations,  but  I  do  n't  know.  I  had  no  right 
to  walk  on  any  part  of  the  quarter  deck  except  the  port 
side — the  remainder  was  reserved  for  the  Commodore, 
Captain,  First  Lieutenant  and  officer  of  the  deck.  The 
space  of  plank  which  I  had  the  right  to  walk,  in  common 
with  twenty-four  other  officers,  was  about  twenty-five  feet 
long  by  six  wide.  Under  the  "  ancient  discipline,"  over 
whose  mouldering  bones  so  many  lament,  no  such  re- 
strictions were  imposed  upon  me  in  my  inferior  position. 

Well,  I  made  the  call,  and  I  should  not  mention  it  but 
for  its  great  scientific  results.  Talk  no  more  of  the  fall  of 
the  apple.  Let  Archimedes  go  on  crying  "Eureka,"  and 
Piichard  prose  about  the  imity  of  races.  Let  Geofii-ey 
St.  Hilaire  defend,  against  Cuvier,  his  theory  of  "  Unity 
of  Composition"  with  such  animation  as,  "  On  the  eve 
of  the  revolution  of  1830,  withdrew  for  a  moment  the 


WATER.  63 

attention  of  politicians  from  politics,  and  which  com- 
pletely overshadowed,  in  Goethe's  mind,  the  importance 
of  the  revolution  itself;  for  he  knew  that  a  whole  revo- 
lution in  thought,  far  deeper  and  far  more  important  to 
humanity  than  twenty  July  days,  was  germinating  there." 
All  their  discoveries  were  as  nothing  to  mine,  and  I  am 
prepared  to  prove  all  their  miities  of  races  and  compo- 
sitions a  complete  humb«g. 

I  entered  the  cabin,  and  took  my  seat,  at  the  polite 
request  of  the  ever  courteous  Commodore,  After  a  few 
words  of  more  general  conversation,  I  asked — 

"  How  does  the  allowance  of  water  hold  out  with 
you  ?" 

"  Oh,  very  well — we  have  plenty." 

"  Plenty  to  cook  with,  plenty  to  wash  with,  plenty  to 
drink  ?" 

"  Yes." 

"  More  than  enough,  may  be  ?" 

"  Oh  no  ;  we  have  to  manage  and  economize." 

"  Why,  is  it  possible  you  use  your  allowance  every 
day  ?"  When  there  is  an  allowance,  it  is  alike  to  all  in 
the  ship,  the  reader  will  understand. 

"  Certainly." 

I  here  began  to  fall  into  that  ijahiful  mental  puzzle 
which  precedes  the  birth  of  a  great  thought. 

I  looked  around  the  cool  and  airy  cabin,  with  the  breeze 
playing  in  and  out  its  ports.  I  thought  of  my  own  sweat- 
ing cell.  I  thought  of  more  :  of  cases  of  claret,  and  casks 
of  ale,  with  which  we  officers  might  eke  out  our  allow- 
ance ;  of  the  diiFerence  between  cases  of  fresh  meat  and 
chunks  of  salt  junk.  I  thought  of  the  difference  between 
those  sitting  in  a  cool  cabin,  and  those  pulling  at  the  gun- 
tackles,  or  working  in  the  fire-room,  and  in  these  facts 
and  contrasts  I  had  enough  to  erect  a  theory  upon — more 
indeed,  than  the  basis  of  many  theories.     How  is  it,  I 


64  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

asked,  that  the  same  allowance  of  water  which  is  just 
enough  for  men  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances, 
is  fully  sufficient  for  others  in  such  different  conditions  ? 
Here  the  apple  hit  me  on  the  head.  I  remembered  that 
the  works  upon  the  laws  of  life  are  entitled,  "  Principles 
of  Human  Physiology."  It  is  then  evident  that  these 
pretenders  to  science  have  overlooked  one  fact  just  under 
their  noses.  Human  physiology*hould  embrace  all  men  ; 
but  these  observei's  have  failed  to  study  either  sailors  or 
officers,  inasmuch  as  naval  law  so  distinctly  recognizes  a 
difference  in  their  natures  that  one  or  the  other  must  be 
excepted  from  "  humanity." 

I  might  be  satisfied  with  resting  my  fame  ujion  this 
discovery,  but  I  made  others. 

I  promised  the  reader  to  solve  the  mystery  of  what 
may  be  called,  "  privations  without  necessity,"  and  it 
shall  now  be  done. 

In  the  "  good  old  days,"  under  "  the  ancient  discipline" 
of  the  service,  when  men  were  flogged,  and  officers  were 
committing  themselves  by  getting  drunk,  breaking  theii 
liberty,  and  other  violations  of  propriety,  caj)tains  had  a 
glorious  time ;  they  could  daily  give  tangible  evidence  of 
their  authority,  and  roll  it  as  a  "  sweet  morsel  under  their 
tongues."  They  could  get  into  great  passions,  swear, 
and  cry  out  at  the  top  of  their  voices,  "  Go  below,  sir, 
and  consider  yourself  suspended  from  duty,"  and  feel  re- 
lieved and  comfortable.  But  what  can  they  do  in  these 
days  of  staid  propriety  ?  When  officers  do  their  duty  from 
a  conscientious  sense  of  obligation,  and  respect  themselves 
more  than  they  fear  authority,  the  captain's  occupation 
seems  nearly  gone.  What  there  may  be  stormy  in  his 
nature,  is  "  cabined,  cribbed,  confined"  by  an  invisible 
cii'cle  of  conscientious  deportment  which  will  not  let  him 
blow  out.  His  existence  might  be  overlooked,  and  so — 
he  stops  your  allowance  of  water,  and  you  feel  his  power 


WATER.  65 

in  every  moving  fibre  and  flowing  vein.     Is  that  not  rea- 
son enough,  unreasonable  doubters  ? 

No  matter  where  you  may  be  sitting  at  this  moment 
reading  my  sea-cell  developments,  just  for  a  short  time 
imagine  yourself  sitting  quietly  alone  in  an  elegantly- 
furnished  upper  room  of  a  large  house.  There  are  two 
or  three  hundred  people  engaged  in  various  avocations 
in  the  rooms  beneath  you,  and  although  acknowledging 
your  superiority,  thinking  more  of  their  work  than  of 
you.  This  wounds  your  vanity.  You  throw  yourself 
back  in  your  chair ;  you  stretch  out  your  legs,  and  cross 
one  over  the  other,  and  think.  Suddenly  it  occurs  to 
you  to  chain  down  the  handle  of  the  pump  in  the  yard 
for  one  half  the  day,  and  stick  up  a  notice  that  it  was 
done  by  your  authority.  Tou  may  then  feel  assured  that 
your  existence  is  felt,  and  may  enjoy  the  consciousness  of 
power.  And  this  mystery  of  water  is  the  secret  of  more 
than  half  of  what  is  called  military  discipline.  I  think, 
however,  that  naval  government  in  this  respect  is  essen- 
tially defective,  so  long  as  there  is  no  sufficient  means  of 
serving  out  allotments  of  hght  and  air  at  the  instigation 
of  whim  and  caprice,  and  am  very  certain  that  a  Navy 
board  could  be  found  capable  of  organizing  the  system ; 
but  at  the  very  beginning  I  protest  against  its  ajsprojjri- 
ating  the  originality  of  the  suggestion. 

My  friend.  Lieutenant  Bryan  Boroihme,  as  he  came  in, 
trumpet  in  hand,  after  being  relieved  from  the  forenoon 
watch,  sat  himself  down  and  looked  serious,  even  sad ; 
after  a  few  moments  he  remarked  slowly,  half  speaking 
to  himself,  "I  shall  be  glad  when  this  allowance  of  water 
is  at  an  end." 

I  must,  however,  make  my  reader  acquainted  with 
Bryan,  although  I  am  not  sure  that  the  course  of  this  his- 
tory will  give  them  the  pleasure  which  I  had,  of  an  ex- 
tended association.     He  was  one  of  those  who,  being  a 


06  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

law  unto  themselves,  forti;natcly  had  that  law  resting 
u])on  a  right  heart  and  a  sound  head.  His  sympathies 
were  with  his  fellow-man  in  the  widest  sense,  and  he  rec- 
ognized the  rights  and  claims  of  humanity,  independent 
of  external  circumstances,  and  as  superior  to  those  of  any 
individual.  His  mental  stores  had  been  gathered  from  a 
wide  field  of  literary  ranging,  and  he  was  equally  ready 
to  hurl  a  sturdy  oak  of  principle  at  wrong,  or  to  cast  the 
flowers  of  poesy  upon  the  angry  waters  of  discussion  as 
they  rolled  by  him.  Such  was  the  man  to  whose  involim- 
tary  remark  I  replied,  by  asking  what  suggested  it. 

"  I  '11  tell  you.  During  my  last  mid-watch,  I  was  stand- 
ing near  the  binnacle,  when  I  heard  a  sort  of  sigh  or 
grunt  of  discomfort  from  Turner  the  quartermaster,  who 
was  at  the  'Conn.'  It  attracted  my  attention,  and  I 
asked  him  what  was  the  matter. 

"  '  I  was  thinking,  sir,  of  a  hard  time  I  had  once  on  ac- 
count of  a  shipwreck.' 

"I  have  no  objection  myself  to  talking  to  the  men  and 
learning  their  ex^Derience,  so  I  encouraged  him  to  go  on 
and  tell  me  about  it,  which  he  did  very  graphically  ;  but 
the  gist  of  the  whole  matter  was,  that  he  and  others, 
eleven  in  all,  were  sixteen  days  in  a  boat,  on  only  four 
gallons  of  water,  and  he  did  not  suifer  so  much  from  thirst 
as  he  was  then  doing. 

" '  But,  Turner,  how  could  that  be — you  have  much  more 
now?' 

" '  Know  it,  sir.  Can't  tell,  excej^t  I  was  kind  of  anx- 
ious, and  I  knowed  it  could  n't  be  helped.' 

"  '  Are  you  very  thirsty  now  ?' 

"  '  My  tongue  is  like  a  dried  shark's  skin.  Allowance 
gave  out  about  four  o'clock.' 

"  I  fortunately  had  some  of  my  own  allowance  in  a  bot- 
tle in  my  room,  which  I  sent  for,  and  moistened  Turner's 
shark-skin  tonijue. 


"WATER.  07 

"  But  that  is  not  all,"  continued  Boroihme ;  "just  now, 
before  I  left  the  deck — " 

However,  as  I  can  not  tell  the  incident  in  the  manner 
of  my  friend,  I  will  tell  it  in  my  own. 

I  must  premise  that  this  conversation  occurred  after  we 
had  left  Ascension,  where  we  had  laid  in  a  large  supply 
both  of  water  and  green  turtle. 

Green  turtle  soup !  After  writing  these  words,  reader, 
both  you  and  I  ought  not  to  hurry  on,  but  pause  and  think 
upon  them,  that  is,  if  the  flavor  of  the  compound  has  ever 
rested  upon  your  palate  as  it  has  upon  mine — which  I 
doubt.  Rich  in  substantial  gelatine,  perfumed,  gently 
perfumed,  with  varied  sj^ices,  tinted  with  rosy  wine, 
gemmed  with  emeralds  of  calUpash,  and  garnished  with 
golden  lemons.  We  had  a  French  cook,  and  such  was 
the  kind  of  soup  our  caterer  gave  us.  But  the  men  had 
turtle  soup  too — quasi  turtle  soup ;  all  except  one  mess. 

Just  before  my  friend  left  the  deck  his  attention  was 
invited  to  a  man  standing  at  the  mast  with  a  big  tin  pan. 
All  such  conferences  are  held  at  the  mast.  It  is  the  neu- 
tral ground  between  the  quarter  deck  and  the  forecastle 
— the  bar  of  impromptu  justice,  and  the  exchange  where 
conflicting  opinion  meets.  The  Lieutenant  walked  for- 
ward and  looked  into  the  pan.  On  its  bottom  lay  a  tur- 
tle's bony  and  skinny  fin,  boiled  to  rags,  and  exhausted 
of  juices.  The  man  asked  the  ofliccr  respectfully  whether 
that  was  a  suitable  dinner  for  their  mess.  The  ofticer 
did  not  think  it  was,  and  the  ship's  cook  being  sent  for, 
explained  that  this  mess  had  not  contributed  of  their  al- 
lowance of  water  to  make  the  soup,  and  therefore  the 
dry  turtle  flipper  which  they  gave  to  him,  he  returned  to 
them  more  dry  and  less  substantial. 

"Why  sir,"  quoted  my  friend  with  animation,  as  he 
concluded  the  story,  "it  was  the  play  of  Hamlet  with 
Hamlet  left  out." 


68  THEVOYAGEOUT. 

The  turtle  flipper  and  the  shark's  tongue  of  Turner 
caused  Boroihme  to  wish  the  allowance  at  an  end. 
There  was  no  real  sufloriiig,  but  the  men  were  uncom- 
fortable. 

All  that  kind  of  floatmg  and  unsubstantial  gossip  which 
on  shore  has  its  source  in  "  on  dit,"  and  "  they  say,"  is 
on  shipboard  called  "galley  news."  Reports  from  this 
quarter  have  reached  us  that  we,  instead  of  running  our 
course,  are  running  for  rains.  This  I  take  to  be  a  mere 
scandal,  inasmuch  as,  in  three  days'  loss  of  time,  we  might 
not  catch  one  day's  water.  However,  whether  running  for 
rains  or  not  we  fell  in  them,  and  the  waters  of  the  skies 
intoxicated  our  ship's  company.  There  was  a  tremendous 
excitement ;  every  man  set  up  in  the  water  line  upon  his 
own  hook.  The  awnings  were  spread,  and  in  their  deep 
cavities  the  floods  gathered.  Every  tub,  pitcher,  basin, 
bucket,  bottle,  or  other  vessel  which  would  contain  water 
was  brought  into  use  and  stowed  in  our  rooms.  Our  cells 
became  water  cells. 

That  the  allowance  of  water  on  shipboard  is  often  di- 
minished without  necessity,  to  the  great  detriment  of 
health,  the  history  of  the  service  proves.  It  is  too  im- 
portant an  element  of  existence  to  be  at  the  cajDrices  of  a 
tyrannical  disposition,  or  a  monomaniacal  folly.  It  should 
be  made  a  solemn  and  important  thing.  The  command- 
ing officer  should  convene  a  board  of  officers,  of  which 
the  medical  officer  should  be  a  member,  and  then,  if  this 
board  does  not  concur  in  the  propriety  of  diminishing 
the  allowance,  still  let  the  commanding  officer  have  the 
power  of  doing  so,  entering  on  the  log,  and  reporting  to 
the  Department,  his  reasons  for  differing  with  the  views 
of  the  board. 


SIMON'S    BAT.  69 

VIII. 

SIMON'S     BAY. 

Before  we  were  led  off  by  this  Av^ater  excursion,  ouv 
last  word  was  Hope.  And  hope  was  fulfilled.  That  fair 
breeze  came  gliding  over  the  water,  rippling  its  bright 
blue  surface,  and  gemmuig  it  with  sparkling  spray.  Be- 
fore it  we  swept  on  over  the  Southern  ocean,  and  as  we 
approached  the  southern  continent  we  found  the  ocean 
rolling  in  long  and  magnificent  swells.  Without  much 
wind,  our  ship  running  from  three  to  five  miles  an  hour 
only,  they  came  sweeping  down,  rolling  and  tossing  us 
about  terribly,  and  when  the  wind  freshened,  it  seemed  to 
raise  supplemental  hillocks  of  water  upon  the  top  of  these 
swells.  Looking  over  a  large  expanse  of  ocean,  it  had 
the  appearance  of  smooth  rolling  hills,  with  lesser  hills 
cresting  their  tops.  Ports  closed  in  darkness,  rolling  and 
staggering  over  this  heaving  ocean,  we  sped  on  our  way. 
Januaiy  12th,  1856,  was  a  white  day  in  my  geographical 
calendar,  as  it  was  then  I,  for  the  first  time,  rested  my 
eyes  upon  the  black  continent  whose  people  have  given 
the  world  more  political  and  religious  trouble  than  their 
physical  strength  has  ever  given  it  aid.  It  was  a  white 
day,  not  only  on  account  of  this  geographical  wonder, 
,but  because,  after  thirty-one  days  of  sea  rolling  and  ship 
dietetics,  we  were  to  have  the  quiet  of  port,  the  fresh 
fruits  of  the  earth,  and  to  tread  once  more  its  solid, 
motherly  bosom.  When  I  went  upon  deck  at  an  earlier 
hour  in  the  morning  than  usual,  there  were  the  great 
rocky  buttresses,  the  ragged  mountains  of  South  Africa, 
iutting  out  into  the  sea,  which  rolled  in  upon  them  from 
the  pole,  or,  at  nearest,  the  Antarctic  continent.  Table 
Mountain,  and  all  the  individualized  and  named  peaks  of 


70  TUli     VOYAGE     OUT. 

this  renowned  Cape  were  in  sight  as  we  ran  along  the 
shores  of  "  Good  Hope,"  rounded  its  promontory,  and 
entered  the  sniootli  green  waters  of  Simon's  Bay.  There 
a  few  neat-looking  English  houses  clustered  on  the  beach, 
at  the  foot  of  the  gray,  naked  mountain  towering  behind 
them.  We  cast  our  anchor  in  front  of  Simon's  Town — 
of  about  one  thousand  inhabitants — another  of  the  tap- 
ping-places of  England's  world-encircling  drum. 

The  anchor  being  down,  then  came  all  the  bustle  and 
preparation  of  an  arrival  in  port.  We  tried  to  brighten 
up,  mentally  and  vestimentally ;  our  better  and  brighter 
uniforms  were  put  on,  straw  hats  hung  up,  and  laced  and 
embroidered  caps  substituted.  The  marines  were  brightly 
costumed,  ready  to  be  paraded  as  a  guard  of  honor  for 
any  distinguished  visitor ;  and  such  of  them  as  stood 
sentry  were  placed  on  post,  musket  in  hand,  at  the  gang- 
ways. The  boats  were  lowered  from  their  davits,  and 
one  of  the  lieutenants,  in  cocked  hat  and  sword,  dispatched 
to  wait  on  the  authorities  and  arrange  the  salutes. 

Various  boats  were  hurrying  off  to  us.  One  was  that 
of  the  health  officer  and  harbor  master,  before  whose  visit 
we  must  not  communicate  with  the  shore.  Another, 
with  the  United  States  flag  flying,  brought  the  American 
Consul.  A  third,  with  a  pennon  in  the  bow,  and  the 
British  ensign  in  the  stern,  brought  a  lieutenant  from 
the  English  commodore's  flag-ship,  the  Castor,  to  tender 
us  the  courtesies  of  the  port.  Then  came  the  salutes, 
twenty-one  guns  for  the  British  flag,  and  next  thirteen 
guns  for  the  British  commodore,  both  of  which  were  re- 
turned from  the  Castor,  and  we  were  fairly  introduced. 

The  salutes  over,  the  string  of  small  boats  which  had 
been  lying  astern  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  the  guns,  now 
pull  up  to  the  gangway,  and  theu'  occupants,  each  one 
hurrying  before  his  neighbor,  climb  the  ship's  side  and 
step  on  board.      There   are  provision  dealers,  grocers, 


SIMON'S     BAY.  11 

tailors,  bumboat  men,  washermen  and  women,  zealous  to 
show  their  cards  and  recommendations  from  preceding 
ships,  and  to  secure  the  custom  of  the  various  messes. 
The  bumboat  man  is  the  most  useful  of  all  these  M'ater 
merchants.  He  may  be  all  in  one.  His  boat  is  the  ped- 
dhng  shop,  the  corner  grocery  to  the  people  shut  up  on 
board  the  ship.  At  designated  hours  he  comes  alongside 
vrith  his  store  of  fresh  fruits,  fresh  bread,  cooked  fish  and 
meats,  with  tempting  varieties  of  articles  peculiar  to  the 
locality  in  which  we  may  be.  He  is  a  convenience  also 
for  communicating  with  the  shore,  making  purchases,  and 
bringing  oif  small  packages,  of  which  we  all  avail  our- 
selves, jjreferring  the  independence  of  this  private  ar- 
rangement to  the  ifs  and  ands,  the  cumbrous  contin- 
gencies, the  weighty  concession  which  attends,  so  often, 
the  getting  the  use  of  a  ship's  boat.  Of  course  a  man  in 
such  close  association  with  the  people  of  the  ship  must 
have  the  guarantee  of  a  certain  amount  of  reputable  char- 
acter, or  he  may  do  much  mischief  by  smuggling  liquor 
and  other  improper  articles  on  board. 

Upon  this  occasion  a  tall,  slender,  neatly  dressed 
Malay,  with  a  red  Madras  kerchief  on  his  head,  won  the 
most  general  favor.  He  had  a  package  of  recommenda- 
tions from  the  officers  of  British  and  American  men-of- 
war,  and  one  of  recent  date  from  an  English  commodore, 
recommending  him  to  the  special  favor  of  all  British  men- 
of  war,  because  he  had  supplied  H.  M.  S.  Nankin  with 
provisions  despite  the  anti-convict  restrictions.  A  ship 
came  here  to  land  convicts — the  settlement  resisted  the 
landing,  and  prohibited  its  citizens  from  furnishing  sup- 
plies. Treacherous  to  his  town  and  true  to  his  pocket, 
the  Malay,  Tiffley  Manuel,  supplied  the  ship  at  midnight 
with  every  thing  needful,  even  to  bullocks.  The  convicts, 
however,  were  not  landed. 

As   one    of    our  welcome-giving  visitors    sat  in   the 


72  T  a  K     V  O  Y  A  G  E      O  U  T  . 

cabin,  pointing  to  a  neighboring  mountain,  he  said,  "  The 
Muizenberg  has  its  cap  on ;  it 's  going  to  blow  fresh  from 
the  south-cast  before  to-morrow  morning,  and  you  are 
lying  so  far  out  you  will  feel  it."  And  such  Ave  found  to 
be  the  case.  Whenever  the  cloud  cap  gathered  around 
the  brow  of  the  Muizenberg,  the  south-easters  whistled 
through  our  rigging.  We  dropped  another  anchor,  and 
our  communication  with  the  shore  was  interrupted,  diflfi- 
cult  and  dangerous. 

The  winds  on  the  south-east  coast  of  Africa  are  vio- 
lently fitful,  changing  instantly  from  south-east  to  north- 
west, without  a  moment's  warning;  and  our  new  acquaint- 
ances of  the  Cape  were  now  mourning  the  melancholy 
destructiveness  of  these  gales  in  the  loss  of  the  brig  Ner- 
budda,  which,  having  left  Algoa  Bay,  had  been  hoped  for 
from  day  to  day,  but  never  heard  of. 

Such  a  disappearance  of  a  ship  into  the  mysterious  depths 
of  the  ocean  "with  her  whole  living  crew — of  those  with 
whom  you  have  been  in  recent  association,  and  for  whose 
return  you  confidently  look — is  one  of  the  most  painful 
manifestations  of  the  terrors  of  the  ocean.  The  very  un- 
certainty of  the  moment  gives  a  dark  and  gloomy  fi-eedom 
to  the  imagination,  and  it  will  pertinaciously  call  up  the 
horrors  of  that  moment  when  an  entire  community  of 
familiar  friends,  in  full  life  and  vigor,  and  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  an  inevitable  doom,  sank  beneath  the  ingulfing 
waves.  Om*  own  recent  national  and  personal  losses  in 
the  Porpoise  and  Albany,  enabled  us  to  sympathize  with 
our  new  friends  in  the  loss  of  the  Xerbudda.  But  this 
south-east  wind  has  its  compensations:  its  tempestuous 
flight  bears  healing  on  its  wings.  Blowing  from  the  cold 
regions  of  the  south,  it  is  found  to  purify  the  atmosphere, 
and  drive  away  disease.  Although  Simon's  Bay  has  the» 
annoyance  of  this  wind,  Simon's  Town  owes  its  existence 
to  its  being  sheltered  from  the  fierce  winds  which  roll  the 


SIMON'S     BAY.  73 

Atlantic  in  before  Table  Bay  and  Cape  Town.  It  is  also 
the  site  of  the  government  dockyard,  and  the  anchorage 
of  the  government  shipping. 

We  are  now  receiving  some  of  the  physical  compen- 
sations of  our  sea  existence.  Those  things  which  are  an 
ever  present  and  little  appreciated  circumstance  of  shore 
life,  came  to  us  as  a  lucky  accident ;  we  were  therefore 
much  gratified  at  seeing  our  table,  on  the  first  day  of 
our  arrival,  loaded  with  plums,  pears  and  melons ;  pyra- 
mids of  purple  and  white  grapes,  and  most  delicious 
peaches.  "We  were  now  comfortable  enough  to  afford 
some  pity  for  our  distant  friends  who  were  housed  from 
the  winds  and  snows  of  a  northern  winter. 

Without  going  out  of  the  ship  we  can  supply  our  tables 
with  most  delicious  fish.  A  line  over  the  ship's  side  will 
reward  the  most  exacting  fisherman.  Solid,  substan- 
tial, sUver-scaled  Cape  salmon,  weighing  from  fifteen  to 
eighteen  pounds,  were  nightly  taken  in  numbers  from 
the  waters  alongside  the  ship,  and  enlivened  the  night 
watches  by  flapping  the  deck,  as  they  were  one  after  an- 
other thrown  upon  it.  This  lordly  fellow  was  only  one 
among  many  smaller  fry.  But  there  was  death  in  the 
pot. 

Upon  our  first  arrival  the  harbor  master  j^laced  in  my 
hands  the  following  printed  paper : 

Caution. 

There  is  a  fish  in  Simon's  Bay,  commonly  called  Toad  Fish ;  it 
is  about  six  inches  long,  back  dark,  with  deep  black  stripes ;  belly 
white,  with  faint  yellow  patches ;  it  swims  near  the  surface,  and 
is  a  constant  attendant  on  lines  employed  fishing.  When  taken 
from  the  water,  it  puffs  out  considerably.  Should  any  portion 
of  this  fish  be  eaten,  death  ensues  in  a  few  minutes. 

W.  P.  Jamison,  Harbor  Master. 
Port  Office,  Simon's  Town,  November  22,  1848. 

4 


14  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

Although  we  have  not  yet  put  our  feet  on  shore,  we  are 
reminded  that  we  are  in  Africa  by  the  advertisements  of 
some  local  papers  which  have  found  their  way  on  board. 
"Rhinoceros  horns — ostrich  eggs  and  feathers — basket 
and  driuking-cups  made  of  ostrich  eggs — Kaffir  karasses, 
and  native  weapons  of  various  tribes — lion,  tiger,  and 
other  skins — a  fine  live  tiger,  and  a  variety  of  articles  too 
numerous  to  particularize." 

"We  must  go  ashore  and  see  all  these  things,  and  more. 
I  hope  the  reader  will  go  with  us,  help  us  make  our  car- 
riage bargain,  and  see  things  as  we  saw  them,  little  and 
big.  The  south-easter  had  i3ufred  itself  out  and  left  a 
smooth  time,  when,  in  the  early  morning,  Commodore 
Ai'mstrong,  Lieutenant  Rutledge  and  I,  with  carpet-bags 
and  valises,  started  for  the  shore  and  a  journey  to  Cape 
Town. 

The  proprietor  of  horses  and  carriages  expected  us, 
and  was  awaiting  our  arrival  with  a  cart  and  horses 
ready  harnessed — a  cart  on  two  wheels,  with  yellow 
painted  canvas  cover,  but  fortunately  a  cart  on  springs. 

"  What  are  we  to  pay  ?» 

"  Two  pun  ten  sir" — two  pounds  ten  shillings — "  for 
Cape  Town  and  back."  The  distance  is  twenty-four 
miles. 

"  How  much  to  leave  us  there,  and  we  find  our  own 
way  back  ?" 

"Same,  sir.     Two  pun  ten." 

"  How  much  time  do  you  give  us  there  ?" 

"  Forty-eight  hours  from  starting — we  keep  the  horses. 
Ten  shillings  a-day  for  all  detention  over  that." 

"  Very  weU." 

We  stow  our  luggage,  take  our  seats,  a  native  Sierra 
Leone  negro,  with  teeth  filed  sharp,  mounts  the  fourth 
seat  as  driver,  and  whUe  the  bright  sun  is  gleaming  on 
the  water,  and  lifting  the  misty  night-caps  from  the  bald 


SIMOX'SBAY,  15 

mountain-beads,  we  rattle  out  of  Simon's  Town,  shaking 
the  lingering  slumber  from  tbe  eyes  of  tbe  few  enterpris- 
ing individuals  wbo  came  to  tbeir  doors  and  windows  to 
see  what  was  going  on.  Tbe  first  thing  we  ran  against 
Avas  an  institution  of  civilization — a  toll-gate — sixpence. 
There  were  two  others  on  our  road.  Bat  what  do  we 
pay  for  ?  Here  we  are  rolling  over  a  better  road  than 
man  could  ever  build,  made  by  that  Power,  and  at  the 
same  time,  who  lifted  these  rugged,  rocky,  bare,  gray 
mountains,  close  on  our  left  hand,  from  the  ocean  depths ; 
a  broad,  level,  white,  firm  sand  beach,  which  for  myriads 
of  ages  has  been  daily  relaid  by  that  same  flowmg  tide 
which  is  now  gently  rijDpling  over  and  washing  out  our 
wheel-tracks  and  hoof-marks.  But  we  come  to  the  end 
of  our  sea-washed  road,  and  then  we  find  that  our  road- 
tax  is  not  for  nothing.  Over  the  point  of  high  land  which 
juts  out  into  the  sea,  a  fine  macadamized  road  has  been 
built.  We  have,  however,  two  other  fine  bay  beaches, 
with  intervening  points  of  high  land.  Along  all  this  part 
of  the  road  there  is  nothing  to  attract  our  attention  from 
the  wild  grandeur  of  nature.  Here  and  there  a  thatched 
fisherman's  hut,  or  on  the  edge  of  a  bank  overlooking  the 
bay,  a  small  stone  house,  as  a  look-out  for  whales.  As 
we  proceed,  and  the  settlement  thickens,  we  notice  a  pecu- 
liar fence  suiTOunding  the  inclosures — symmetrical  white 
posts  tapering  toward  the  ground,  and,  in  some  places, 
more  slender  arches,  with  one  end  on  the  ground  and  the 
other  curving  up  to  and  supporting  a  Ught  wicker  fence. 
All  these  are  whalebones — the  post  the  heavier,  and  the 
outside  curving  supports  the  lighter,  ribs.  Some  fanciful 
individuals,  standing  two  of  the  largest  ribs  erect,  and 
bringing  their  tapering  points  together,  had  made  pointed 
arches  for  gateway  entrances. 

We  are  now  approaching  a  village,  Kalk  Bay,  and  the 
air  is  loaded  with  odors — an  ancient  and  fish-like  smell — 


76  TIIEVOYAGEOUT. 

that  of  codfish.  As  wc  enter  the  village,  we  see  on  all 
hands  the  source  of  the  smell  and  the  settlement,  in  heajis 
and  piles  of  dried  fish — Cape  salmon.  There  were  kilns 
for  drying  them  artificially,  and  wagons  in  which  they 
were  loaded,  piled  u])  like  shingles.  They  are  largely  ex- 
ported to  the  interior,  and  supplied  to  the  shipping. 
Kalk  Bay  is  also  a  hygeian  resort  for  the  invalids  of  the 
city,  who  come  here  to  inhale  fresh  from  the  water  the 
salutary  breezes  of  the  south-east  wind. 

Leaving  Kalk  Bay,  our  road  takes  us  from  the  water- 
side, our  gray  rocky  mountains  recede  iurther  to  the  left, 
and  do  not  threaten  us  with  an  avalanche  of  the  great 
masses  which,  pivot-hung,  appear  ready  to  crash  down 
into  the  road.  On  either  hand  we  have  a  dry,  sandy 
plain,  greened  over  with  an  undergrowth  of  strange  and 
varied  vegetation.  It  would  be  terrible  on  such  a  hot 
day  as  this,  the  16th  of  January,  to  have  dragged  our  cart 
through  such  a  heavy,  sandy  soil  as  this  around  us,  but 
thanks  to  our  road  maker,  we  are  rolling  still  over  a  hard, 
smooth,  red  macadamized  highway,  and  therefore  at  the 
Muizenberg  gate,  we  pay  our  sixpence  with  grateful, 
and,  I  hope,  graceful  freedom.  Over  the  sandy  plain  to 
our  left,  where  it  approaches  the  slopes  of  the  mountains, 
we  notice  several  large  white  houses  or  country  seats, 
surrounded  by  a  richer  vegetation,  from  which  rolls  up, 
in  long  round  swells,  the  oak  groves  and  avenues  which 
bower  in  the  houses  of  the  vineyards  of  Constancia.  I 
hope  we  shall  see  them  more  closely  before  getting  back 
to  Simon's  Bay. 

Having  reached  Rathfelder's,  a  neat  wayside  inn,  we 
stopped  an  hour  for  breakfast,  and  to  rest  our  horses. 
Our  table  was  here  supplied  with  finer  grapes  and  peaches 
than  we  had  yet  seen,  and  we  found  some  interest  in 
walking  through  his  large,  rich,  and  well-cultivated  gar- 
den of  varied  fruits  and  substantial  vegetables.     We  here 


SIM  ON'S     BA  Y  .  77 

too  saw,  for  the  first  time,  in  his  slaughter-house,  the  car- 
casses of  several  of  the  peculiar  Cape  sheej),  with  the 
enormous  broad  masses  of  fat,  of  several  pounds'  weight, 
forming  the  tail.  Subsequently  meeting  several  flocks  of 
these  sheep,  I  was  surprised  to  notice  how  little  unwieldy 
and  cumbrous  these  fatty  masses  appeared,  terminating 
in  a  taper  extremity  slightly  curved  up. 

Associating,  as  we  do,  the  short  woolly  hair  with  the 
dark  African  skin,  my  attention  was  arrested  by  the  very 
black  skins  of  the  female  servants,  combined  with  a  beau- 
tiful deUcacy  of  feature,  and  long  black  glossy  hair.  They 
were  Malays,  or  rather  a  mixture  of  Malay  and  negro. 
Most  of  the  colored  women  we  saw  were  of  this  character. 
They  are  great  favorites  as  domestics,  having  more  docihty, 
inteUigence,  and  finer  sensibilities  than  the  negro. 

From  this  pleasant  half-way  house  on  to  Cape  Town 
the  country  wonderfully  improves.  The  road  is  beauti- 
ful—  a  shaded  avenue,  passing  between  rows  of  pine 
trees,  and  under  an  arched  arbor  of  oaks.  Farms,  plan- 
tations and  vineyards  cover  the  country  ;  and  around  the 
village  of  Rondebosh,  near  which  is  the  residence  of  the 
Governor,  Sir  George  Grey,  are  gathered  pleasant  coun- 
try seats. 

The  road,  too,  is  an  animated  picture  for  us.  Sijeci- 
mens  of  various  negro  tribes  and  Malays,  with  English 
and  Dutch  laborers,  are  pursuing  their  way  on  foot. 

What  is  this  approaching  us — a  forest  of  horns  ?  One 
— two — three — four — five —  six  —  seven  —  eight  pair  of 
oxen  in  a  single  team — long  horns  and  broadly-extended 
horns,  three  to  four  feet  between  the  tips,  yoked  to  one 
little,  and  what  would  be  with  us  a  one-horse  wagon  ! 
We  are  meeting  many  of  these  little  wagons,  with  pyra- 
mid-hatted Malay  drivers — some  of  them,  instead  of  oxen, 
have  eight  mules,  donkeys,  or  horses.  Amid  this  throng 
of  laboring  vehicles  come  rolling  along  English  carriages, 


78  T II  K    VOYAGE     OUT. 

with  servants  in  livery,  and  some  stiif  and  stately  John 
Bull  inside — Cockneydom  grafted  uj^on  Africa.  I  am 
not  responsible  for  this  ill-natured  insinuation.  It  came 
from  one  among  themselves.  Aristocracy,  he  said,  ran 
tremendously  high  among  the  placemen  and  successful 
adventurers  of  the  colony  One  of  the  latter,  wishing  to 
be  particularly  distinguished,  upon  achieving  fortune  sent 
home  to  Loudon  an  order  for  the  most  expensive  books 
and  most  expensive  Avines.  "  Of  course,"  remarked  my 
informant,  "  he  was  no  gentleman,  but  only  a  Cockney. 
For  wines  they  sent  him  the  Constancia  which  had  gone 
home  from  his  very  door." 

Occasionally,  in  these  stately  httle  liveried  vehicles,  we 
were  cheered  by  the  sight  of  neatly  dressed  English  la- 
dies, and  could  not  refrain  from  the  courtesy  of  a  bow  to 
that  sex  which  has  the  most  undoubted  right  to  take  airs 
upon  itself. 

Among  so  many  vehicles,  and  tramping  and  driving, 
the  red,  iron-rust-colored  dust  of  the  road  began  to  be  an- 
noying, and  we  were  glad  to  find  ourselves,  after  a  four 
hours'  journey,  driving  past  the  barracks,  with  its  rolling 
drums  and  red-coated  soldiers,  and  through  the  substan- 
tial English  streets  of  Cape  Town,  and  dismounted  at  the 
Masonic  Hotel.  A  nearer  look  at  the  "Table  Mountain" 
and  the  "Lion's  Rump"  and  "Head" — a  stroll  through 
the  city — a  look  out  upon  Table  Bay  and  its  shii^ping — a 
walk  through  the  Botanical  Garden,  and  beneath  the  mile 
long  oak  avenue,  a  thousand  old  oaks,  of  the  government 
grounds — a  visit  to  the  museum  of  native  animals — genial 
evenings  at  the  hosjjitable  tables  of  those  gentlemen  who 
kindly  looked  us  up — visits  to  the  curiosity  shops  ; — these 
made  up  the  sum  of  our  occupation  in  Cape  Town,  which 
has  between  twenty  and  thirty  thousand  inhabitants. 
But  it  is  the  metropolis  of  a  colony  destined  to  a  great 
future,  toward  which  it  is  making  rapid  strides.     It  has  a 


SIMON'S     BAY.  79 

similitude  to  our  own  country  in  the  phenomenon  of  a 
EurojDean  civilization  pressing  for  two  hundred  years  upon, 
and  pressing  back,  and  out  of  existence,  ferocious,  bar- 
barous tribes — carrying  its  frontier  against  those  tribes, 
and  against  the  most  ferocious  and  powerful  wild  beasts 
and  reptiles — the  Hon,  the  leopard,  and  the  cobra — until 
it  is  arrested  by  the  arid  desert. 

There  is  much  to  interest  every  man  who  thinks  at  all, 
every  thing  to  interest  the  American  in  the  social  and  po- 
litical features  of  this  colony. 

By  Dutch  and  English  the  colony  has  now  been  settled 
for  over  two  hundred  years ;  for  over  forty  years  it  has 
been  an  English  possession ;  and  the  act  for  the  abolition 
of  slavery  in  all  British  territories  was  carried  into  effect 
over  twenty  years  ago. 

Besides  the  old  original  Cape  district,  by  conquest  and 
by  occupation  twenty  other  disti'icts  have  been  added. 
The  wilderness,  once  the  jiossession  of  the  Hottentot  and 
quadrupedal  savages,  is  now  covered  with  grain  fields, 
orchards,  and  vineyards  joroducing  the  most  luscious  of 
wines  ;  farms  yielding  that  which  is  literally  the  "  golden 
fleece"  of  the  colony — wool,  whose  increase  of  export  has 
gone  on  from  a  few  thousand  pounds  to  many  and  increas- 
ing millions,  and  whose  progressive  increase  is  beyond 
estimate.  Yet,  amid  all  these  farmers,  plantation  j)ro- 
prietors,  and  wool-growers,  where  is  the  aboriginal  in- 
habitant ?  Is  he  of  them  ?  He  is  the  servant  of  servants, 
the  laborer  to  Dutch  laboring  Boers,  or  he  is  a  child-kill- 
ing, parent-slaying  savage.  These  facts  should  be  sugges- 
tive to  the  theoretical  jihilanthropists,  who  are  regulating 
the  social  prol>lems  of  the  age  by  the  benevolence  of  their 
own  hearts.  The  free  and  protected  black  British  citi- 
zens of  Cape  Colony  are  yielding  their  lands  to  the  farms 
and  vineyards  of  the  white  man,  and  the  world  and  civil- 
ization are  the  ijainers. 


80  T  U  E     V  O  Y  A  G  E     O  U  T  . 

Twenty  of  the  districts,  Ave  found,  have  grown  out  of 
the  original  Cape  settlement,  and  sought  their  varied 
fortunes  up  the  eastern  and  western  coasts,  and  in  the  in- 
terior of  the  Afiican  continent.  A  glance  at  these  various 
distiicts  will  give  us  a  more  definite  idea  of  the  pres- 
ent character  and  future  destiny  of  this  part  of  the  con- 
tinent, and  we  shall  be  drawing  near  to  two  sti^ange  re- 
publics : 

The  Cape  Divisio:jf  has  the  metropolis,  fine  farms,  va- 
rious manufactures,  extensive  fisheries,  and  the  Constan- 
cia  vineyards. 

IVIalmesburt  is  called  the  granaiy  of  the  colony,  from 
its  cereal  abundance,  and  is  distinguished  by  a  Avarm  min- 
eral spring. 

Stellexbosch. — Simon  Vander  Stell,  the  Governor, 
founded  the  town  of  this  district  in  1681.  It  is,  there- 
fore, one  of  the  oldest  in  the  colony.  It  is  a  populous 
and  productive  district,  of  picturesque  and  varied  scenery, 
and  fertile  vineyards. 

Paael  is  another  rich  vineyard  district.  The  wine  of 
Paarl  village  is  considered  the  best  made  in  the  colony. 
The  sweet  Avine  nearly  equals  the  celebrated  Constancia. 
I  am  tempted  to  quote  the  flattering  account  of  Paarl, 
from  its  resemblance  to  some  local  paper's  account  of  some 
village  in  Kansas  or  Nebraska :  "  This  village  makes  ex- 
cellent progress.  Two  banks  have  already  been  estab- 
lished, and  landed  proj)erty  is  rising." 

"WoECESTER  gives  us  cool  summers,  frosty  Avinters,  and 
the  finest  flavored  apjiles,  pears,  and  cherries. 

Clajs"  William. — Herds,  tobacco,  rice,  copjier,  mineral 
springs,  hat  factories,  and  cedar  boards. 

George. — Wool,  butter,  aloes,  grain,  cattle.  It  has  a 
safe  bay  and  wonderful  caverns. 

Beaitfort. — PrincijjaUy  grazing,  skins  and  ostrich  fea- 
thers. 


SIMOK'S     BAY.  81 

ALBA>nr, — A  pastoral  district,  more  populous  than  any- 
other  at  the  CajDe,  and  has  in  it  the  flourishing  city,  Gra- 
ham's To^Ti. 

Fort  Beaufort. — We  are  now  drawing  near  to  Kafik- 
land,  but  stUl  this  division  has  some  of  the  finest  sheep 
and  grain  farms  in  the  colony,  several  of  which  are  worth 
from  twenty  to  twenty-five  thousand  dollars. 

The  district  of  Stockenstrom,  m  this  division,  is  of  the 
most  interesting  and  remarkable  character.  "  It  may,  in 
general  terms,  be  described  as  a  basin  encircled  by  a 
chain  of  mountains,  from  which  issue  the  numerous 
streams  that  give  fertihty  to  the  soil,  and  render  it  so 
eligible  for  a  numerous  population. 

"  This  district  was  formerly  occupied  wholly  by  Hotten- 
tots, but,  in  consequence  of  the  large  number  of  its  in- 
habitants (one  half  at  least)  who  joined  in  the  late  rebel- 
lion, the  Governor,  Sir  George  Cathcart,  at  the  end  of 
the  war,"  had  steps  taken  to  break  up  an  exclusively  na- 
tional settlement — a  measure  (^.  e.  the  settlement)  which 
his  excellency  considered  to  have  proved  not  only  a  fail- 
ure, but  was  attended  with  dangerous  and  inconvenient 
consequences,  prejudicial  alike  to  the  inhabitants  them- 
selves and  to  the  community  at  large. 

"  From  the  town  of  Fort  Beaufort  can  be  seen  a  long 
range  of  dark  and  rugged  hills,  fringed  with  wood,  and 
intersected  by  dark  and  precipitous  ravines,  and  over- 
looking the  country  to  this  place,  from  which  it  is  not 
generally  more  than  five  miles  distant,  as  the  crow  flies. 
Here  it  was  that  Macomo  and  the  rebel  Hottentots  took 
up  their  abode  during  the  war,  and  here  likewise  has  been 
the  scene  of  the  various  conflicts  and  disasters  which  had 
for  so  long  a  time  followed  the  attempts  to  expel  the 
enemy."* 

Geaap  Reijtet. — Wool  and  cattle  are  the  chief  pro- 
*  Capo  Almanac. 
4* 


82  T  II  K     V  O  Y  A  G  E     O  U  T  . 

ducts — principally  wool.  Large  tracts  of  country  in  this 
division  are  entirely  destitute  of  wood,  the  farmers  using 
cattle  dung  for  fuel.  Tliis  is  dug  out  of  the  kraals  when 
softened  by  rain ;  it  is  then  cut  into  square  pieces  and 
stacked,  as  is  done  wnth  turf  or  peat  in  many  parts  of 
Great  Britain.  When  sufficiently  dry  it  is  preferred,  as 
fuel,  to  wood,  giving  a  stronger  heat,  and  causing  less 
trouble.  It  is  frequently  used  by  blacksmiths  at  the 
torge,  instead  of  coal. 

Game  of  aU  kinds  is  plentiful — sometimes  far  too  su- 
perabundant. Long  droughts  in  the  interior  compel  the 
spriug-bok  to  forsake  the  extensive  plains  which  are  then 
its  favorite  haunts,  and  to  migrate  into  the  colony.  This 
it  occasionally  does  in  such  incredible  numbers  that  their 
visit  is  felt  as  a  serious  calamity — the  herbage  being  en- 
tirely consumed  by  them.  The  capital  of  the  division  is 
a  beautiful  village,  planted  on  each  side  with  lemon  trees, 
mterspersed  mth  the  acacia  and  Ceylon  rose. 

CoLESBUEGH  Ucs  north,  on  the  Orange  River.  In 
cattle,  shee23  and  horses  it  is  the  richest  in  the  colony, 
although  subject  to  \aolent  snow  storms. 

These  notes,  condensed  from  the  Cape  Almanac,  en- 
able us  to  form  some  idea  of  the  general  character  and 
resources  of  the  country.     We  now  pass  on  to  the 

SOVEREIGNTY 

on  Orange  River,  to  the  north  of  which  it  Kes.  It  is 
three  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles  from  south  to 
north.  "  In  1836  it  was  described  by  Sir  C,  W.  Harris  as 
a  trackless  desert,  a  howling  wilderness,  a  land  in  which, 
though  thinly  populated  by  skulking  hordes  of  Bushmen, 
and  by  the  starving  remnants  of  nomadic  pastoral  tribes 
which  had  been  broken  uj)  by  war  and  violence,  no 
man  permanently  dwelt,  neither  was  the  soil  any  man's 


SIMON'S     BAY.  83 

property — a  land  in  which  for  hundreds  of  miles  the  eye 
was  not  greeted  by  the  smallest  trace  of  human  industry, 
or  by  any  vestige  of  human  habitation — the  wild  and  in- 
terminable exj^anse  ever  presenting  the  same  appearance 
— that  of  one  vast^  uninhabited  solitude.''''  This  tract  is 
generally  a  heavy  grazing  country.  It  is  now  occupied 
by  fine  farms  and  a  flourishing  population,  making  large 
exports  of  wool,  and  sending  its  droves  even  to  Cape  Col- 
ony. It  is  weU  watered,  abounds  in  mill  seats,  produces 
various  grains  and  fruits,  and  coal  is  found  among  its  as 
yet  little  known  mineral  j^roductions.  Its  towns  and 
villages  have  their  school  houses,  churches  of  various 
denominations,  club  houses  and  theatres.  And  this  is 
an  independent,  self-governing,  republican  sovereignty. 
Independent  by  the  voluntary  act  of  the  British  author- 
ities,  and  adjoining  it,  beyond  the  river  Vaal  is  the 

TRANS    VAAL,  OR    DUTCH    REPUBLIC. 

Although  expediency,  and  even  necessity,  beget  much 
alliance  and  social  union  between  the  original  Dutch 
population  and  the  more  recent  English  graft,  still  there 
is  a  marked  line  of  uncongeniality,  composed  of  contempt 
on  the  part  of  the  Englisli,  and  a  mitigated  disHke  upon 
the  part  of  the  Dutch.  Many  years  ago,  Andries  "VYil- 
helmus,  Jacobus  Pretorius  emigrated  from  the  colony 
to  seek  a  home,  as  many  of  his  countrymen  had  done, 
in  the  wilderness,  away  from  all  interference  by  British 
authority.  lie  went  to  Natal,  when  the  country  was 
independent  of  the  British  government.  But  British 
authority  pursued  the  emigrant  farmers  in  that  retreat. 
A  conflict  ensued  between  the  British  troops  and  Dutch 
farmers,  led  by  Pretorius.  He  was  eventually  defeated. 
The  British  government  took  possession  of  the  country, 
chiefly,  if  not  solely,  toith  a  view  of  protecting  the  natives^ 
and  a  price  was  set  upon  his  head. 


84  T  II  E     V  O  Y  A  G  E     O  U  T  . 

He  was  subsequently  pardoned,  and  resided  at  Natal 
several  years  under  the  administration  of  Lieutenant 
Governor  AYest.  He  complained  bitterly  of  the  en- 
croachments of  the  natives  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
upon  his  property,  and  traveled  by  land  to  Graham's 
Town  to  represent  his  grievances  to  Sir  H.  Pottinger, 
but  that  governor  did  not  admit  him  even  to  a  private 
audience.  He  afterwards  saw  Sir  Harry  Smith  Avhilst 
this  governor  was  on  his  way  to  Natal,  and  was  after- 
wards very  indignant  when  he  heard  Sir  Harry  had  pro- 
claimed the  Sovereignty  British  territory — his  version  of 
the  interview,  as  reported  at  the  time,  being,  that  that 
governor  had  promised  not  to  do  so  unless  the  majority 
of  the  residents  in  that  country  were  in  favor  of  the 
measure — which  majority,  Pretorius  declared,  were  not 
in  favor  of  it.  It  will  probably  never  be  known  with 
accuracy  what  passed  between  Sir  Harry  Smith  and 
Pretorius,  but  the  result  of  making  the  Sovereignty  a 
British  possession  led  Pretorius  to  invite  his  countrymen 
to  take  up  arms,  and  the  result  wa^  the  battle  of  Boom- 
plaats,  since  which  time  the  country  has  not  been  dis- 
turbed by  the  Dutch  emigrants.  After  this  battle,  Preto- 
rius aj^pears  to  have  lived  very  quietly  at  MagoUesburgh, 
notwithstanding  that  a  price  was  again  set  upon  his 
head,  and  to  have  busied  himself  with  endeavoring  to 
consolidate  a  Dutch  republic  beyond  the  Vaal.  He  con- 
tinued to  be  thus  occuyjied  until  Major  Hogge  and  Mr. 
Owen  were  associated  with  Sir  Harry  Smith,  and  subse- 
quently he  was  again  pardoned,  and  then  was  made  the 
convention  with  him  which  acknowledged  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  Trans  Vaal  republic.  In  this  convention 
the  darling  wish  of  his  heart,  which  he  had  nourished  for 
years,  appears  to  have  been  gratified.  He  had  wished 
all  his  lifetime  to  establish  an  independent  Dutch  State  in 
southern  Africa,  and  had  at  length  succeeded.     This  re- 


SIMON'S     BAT.  85 

public,  with  its  own  President  and  laws,  still  exists,  and  is 
the  second  independent  State  adjoining  the  British  pos- 
sessions in  southern  Africa. 

Honest-hearted  American  patriots,  who  are  devoting 
themselves  to  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  United 
States,  must  have  their  confidence  in  the  sincerity  and 
principle  of  their  English  coadjutors  very  much  shaken 
by  the  testimony  of  Lord  Palmerston  before  a  commit- 
tee of  ParUament — that  English  West  India  sugar  grow- 
ing interests  are  opposed  to  the  existence  of  slavery  in 
other  nations ;  and  the  inconsistency  of  English  states- 
men upon  this  unhaf)py  subject  is  prominent  in  the 
fact  that  both  these  republics  are  slave  States.  They 
are  to  all  intents  English  States.  No  one  can  for  a 
moment  believe  that  England  would  permit  their  inde- 
pendence, if  it  were  not  convenient  to  do  so.  By  per- 
mitting it,  the  boast  of  no  slave  foot  upon  English  soil  is 
maintained,  in  name.  The  independence  of  any  small  and 
weak  State  adjoining  English  military  territory  and  power 
would  be  a  jAenomenon ;  the  independence  of  such  a 
State,  with  the  ports  of  export  and  import  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  EngUsh,  is  a  farce. 

An  EngUsh  local  writer,  speaking  of  the  government 
of  the  free  State,  says,  "  We  now  expect  that  the  laws 
(excejit  with  regard  to  slavery)  will  be  as  well,  if  not 
more  efficiently  carried  out  as  under  the  English  govern- 
ment." Sj)eaking  of  the  aggressive  wars  of  the  citizens 
of  these  republics  over  the  Vaal  River,  this  writer  says, 
"Wars  are  there  made  for  the  express  purpose  of  captur- 
ing children,  and  kidnapping  is  carried  on  in  many  parts. 
The  consequence  of  this  will  in  all  probability  be  that  the 
thin  vail  which  has  been  cast  over  slavery  by  calling  it 
the  sale  of  services,  or  indentures,  will  soon  be  thrown 
away,  and  that  they  will  keep  them  in  bondage  for  their 
lifetime,  and  sell  their  children  and  children's  children. 


8G  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

aiid  as  tlie  interest  of  tlie  people  in  this  system  or  trade 
increases,  laws  will  be  made  from  time  to  time  protective 
of  it. 

"  But  one  tbing  is  plain,  tbat  if  England  does  not  use 
tbe  inHuencc  in  Soutb  Africa  wbicb  God  bas  given  ber, 
to  put  a  stop  to  slavery,  it  mil  become  a  tborn  in  ber 
side  wbich  will  cause  ber  mucb  trouble  yet. 

"  It  is  tbe  policy  of  tbe  government,  in  order  to  avoid 
future  Kaffii'  wars,  in  order  to  prove  to  tbem  tbat  we 
wisb  to  deal  justly  by  tbem,  and  tbat  we  are  actuated  by 
bigb  and  Cbristian  principles.  Our  permitting  and  coun- 
tenancing slavery  on  our  borders  will  give  tbis  tbe  lie, 
and  embitter  tbem  against  us.  Tbey  will  say,  '  We  inter- 
fere wben  tbe  blacks  steal  cattle  from  tbe  wbites,  and 
tben  countenance  tbe  wbites  wben  tbey  steal  children 
from  tbe  blacks.' 

"  I  stated  before  tbat  no  clergyman,  to  my  knowledge, 
bad  bitberto  risked  bis  reputation  or  influence  in  tbat 
part  of  Soutb  Africa,  by  preacbing  or  speaking  to  tbeir 
flocks  about  slavery,  or  about  tbe  duties  of  tbe  wbite 
Cbristians  to  instruct  tbe  black  beatben  in  tbeir  bouse- 
bolds,  or  to  look  upon  tbem  as  buman,  soul-possessing 
beings." 

Tbere  are  tbree  distinct  types  of  negro  to  be  found  in 
Cajje  Colony.  Tbe  tbick-Hpped,  sturdy,  woolly-beaded 
prominent-cbinned,  flat-nosed  Congo,  or  West  Coast  Ne- 
gro— tbe  equally  black,  tall,  graceful,  deUcately-featured 
Kafiir  and  Zulo,  and  tbe  diminutive,  Ugbt  yellow,  tbin, 
tufty-beaded  Hottentot  and  Busbman,  and  wbo  presents 
otber  peculiar  pbysical  formations,  it  would  be  as  difficult 
to  educe  from  external  causes,  as  it  would  be  to  produce  by 
tbese  causes  tbe  analogical  fat-tailed  sbeep  of  tbe  Cape  of 
Good  Hope. 


WINE    AND     WELCOME.  37 

IX. 

W  I  N  K    A  ND    WELCOME. 

Having  seen  such  sights  and  learned  such  facts  as  our 
short  stay  in  Cape  Town  permitted,  our  cart  was  ordered 
up  and  we  took  our  departure  for  Simon's  Bay.  Our  re- 
turn to  this  place  was  to  he  varied  by  a  ride  through  the 
village  of  Wynberg,  and  a  visit  to  the  vineyard  of  Con- 
st an  ci  a. 

After  we  had  passed  through,  "Wynberg,  and  had  some 
ecstacies,  such  as  are  incident  to  sailors  on  shore,  over  its 
rural  charms  and  prettily  embowered  houses,  we  found 
ourselves  on  the  road  to  the  residence  of  Mr.  Cloete,  the 
proprietor  of  the  Constancia  estate,  and  began  to  think  it 
would  be  better  had  we  the  claim  of  some  note  or  letter 
of  introduction.  As,  however,,our  intention  was  to  get 
permission  merely  to  walk  through  the  vineyard,  and 
not  to  intrude  ourselves  upon  the  family,  we  came  to 
the  conclusion  that,  as  we  could  not  help  oui'selves,  it 
was  just  as  well  as  it  was,  by  the  time  our  cart  trundled 
into  an  avenue  of  noble  old  oaks  and  brought  up  in  front 
of  Mr.  Cloete's  large  and  comfortable-looking  mansion. 

A  Malay  servant  came  to  the  door ;  received  our 
cards  ;  promptly  threw  open  the  drawing-room  doors 
with  a  manner  which  showed  that  a  prompt  welcome  was 
the  rule  of  the  house.  Crouched  upon  the  floor,  upon 
one  side  of  this  room,  was  the  stuffed  skin  of  the  largest 
and  finest-looking  leopard  I  ever  saw.  Its  hide  was  of 
the  brightest  yellow  with  the  blackest  spots,  and  it  was 
well  and  naturally  set  up.  We  had  scarcely  more  than 
glanced  at  these  things  when  two  young  ladies  entered 
the  room,  welcoming  us  with  graceful  courtesy,  and  say- 
ing that  their  fathei',  who  Avould  be  in  presently,  would 


88  T  11  E     V  O  Y  A  G  E     O  U  T  . 

be  delighted  at  our  calling,  without  waiting  for  the  visit 
he  intended  to  pay  us.  Soon  after,  Mr.  Cloete,  a  fine 
specimen  of  the  colonial  Dutch  gentleman,  entered  the 
room  and  gave  ns  a  welcome  as  cordial  and  courteous  as 
that  of  his  daughters  had  been  graceful.  One  after  the 
other  entering  the  room,  we  found  ourselves  at  home  with 
this  very  agreeable  family,  and  almost  forgot  the  vineyard. 
Showing  the  way  to  the  vineyard,  Mr.  Cloete  explained 
to  us  the  character  of  the  grapes  from  which  the  fom* 
kinds  of  Constancia  wines  are  made.  The  dry  Pontac  or 
Cape  port ;  the  sweet  Pontac,  a  black,  rich,  sweet  wine  ; 
and  two  beautifully  ruby-looking  wines,  sweet  and  cor- 
dial-like to  the  taste,  called  Froutignac,  and  I  think  white 
Constancia.  It  is  difficult  for  any  one  familiar  with  the 
spmtuous  taste  of  most  wines,  to  believe  that  any  such 
rich  s}Tupy  fluids  can  be  produced  from  the  grape  alone, 
without  the  addition  of  sugar.  But  such  is  the  fact. 
The  grapes  are  pennitte/i  to  almost  wilt  upon  the  vines 
before  they  are  plucked,  and  to  facilitate  this  sacchariz- 
ing  process  the  leaves  are  thinned  from  the  vines.  One 
accustomed  to  the  mode  of  raising  the  grape  in  use 
with  us,  would  scarcely  recognize  a  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
vineyard.  At  a  little  distance  he  would  not  distinguish 
it  from  a  potato  field — the  vines  being  not  over  three 
feet  high,  bunches  of  fresh  shoots  supported  on  old 
knotty,  venerable,  gi'ay  looking  stocks,  many  of  which 
were  probably  as  old  as  the  vineyard,  and  this  was  near 
two  hundred  years  of  age,  having  been  planted  by  one 
of  the  first  governors,  and  gallantly  called  after  his  wife, 
"Constancia."  These  old  Dutch  governors  must  have 
been  gallant  knights,  from  the  honors  paid  their  wives  ; 
the  division  of  Stellenbosch  being  called  after  the  then 
governor  himself,  and  the  Maiden  Bosch  who  became 
Madam  Van  der  Stell,  and  Graef  Reinet  from  Governor 
Graef,  and  his  good  wife  Reinet.     The  days  of  chivalry 


WINE     AND     WELCOME.  89 

were  then,  when  these  old  gray  wine  stocks  were  new, 
and  Constancia  first  flowed  in  ruby  sweetness.  It  was 
better,  however,  Mr.  Cloete  told  me,  not  to  have  the  vines 
over  one  hundred  years  old — a  vineyard  of  one  hundred 
thousand  vines  should  have  a  thousand  renewed  every 
year. 

Waving  his  hand  over  a  tract  of  a  few  acres,  our  host 
remarked,  that  in  this  tract  alone,  and  in  no  other  place, 
is  raised  the  genuine  original  Constancia.  Pointing  to 
an  adjoining  field  he  remarked,  "  I  can  extend  that  vine- 
yard as  much  as  I  please,  but  it  will  not,  no  matter  what 
grape  is  used,  produce  '  Constancia'  wine."  I  supposed, 
at  the  time,  that  this  opinion  might  have  been  the  result 
of  partiality  for  his  own  homestead,' but  others  testified 
to  the  same  fact.  An  English  gentleman — a  competing 
planter — observed  to  me,  "  That  is  true  :  the  Constancia  is 
grown  only  there ;  but  wines  of  the  same  character,  and 
so  near  in  quahty,  that  scarcely  any  one  can  distinguish 
them,  are  grown  upon  other  estates."  It  will  also  be 
noticed  what  is  said,  in  the  preceding  description  of  the 
districts,  on  the  wines  of  Paarl. 

From  the  vineyard  we  took  our  way  to  the  wine  store, 
a  neat,  orderly,  cool,  white-washed  stone  building,  deco- 
rated by  a  classic  relief  over  the  main  entrance.  Inside  it 
was  but  an  avenue  between  two  ranges  of  immense  orna- 
mentally fronted  butts,  with  polished  brass  cocks,  each 
containing  twelve  hundred  gallons.  A  capacious  en- 
trance, for  cleaning  these  butts,  was  made  by  an  oblong 
opening  cut  through  the  central  plank  of  the  head,  with 
the  edge  so  beveled  that  the  smaller  opening  was  exter- 
nal, and  the  pressure  from  within  tightened  the  gate, 
which  was  also  drawn  firm  by  a  screw  passing  through  a 
bar.  A  servant  brought  us  glasses,  and  we  tasted  on  the 
spot  each  of  the  four  kinds  of  costly  Constancia.  The 
nature  of  these  wines  would  have  pleased  Atheuajus,  who, 


00  T  U  E     V  O  Y  A  G  E     O  U  T  . 

in  Lis  "  Banquet  of  the  Learned,"  says,  "  But  that  which 
is  sweet,  (as  is  the  case  with  even  white  and  yellow  Avine 
also,)  is  the  most  nutritious  of  all,  for  it  softens  all  the 
ducts  and  passages,  and  thickens  the  fluid  parts  of  the 
body,  and  does  not  at  all  confuse  the  head.  For  in 
reality  the  nature  of  sweet  wine  lingers  about  the  ribs, 
and  engenders  spittle  as  Diodes  and  Pythagoi-as  assert." 

We  have,  in  these  modern  days,  a  sufficiently  wide 
range  of  wine  taste,  from  the  pale  acid  Avines  of  the 
Rhine  through  claret  to  Port  and  Madeira,  and  from 
these  to  the  rich  syrups  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  by 
the  side  of  which  grows  also  a  delicately  flav^ored  Hock. 
But  these  old  sensual  heathens  had  such  medicated  wine 
tastes  as  to  indicate  a  medicinal  purpose  in  their  wine 
drinking. 

Athenaeus  again  tells  us,  "  Now  the  wines  which  have 
been  carefully  prepared  with  sea-water  never  cause  head- 
aches," and  produce  certain  wholesome  effects.  "  But 
Theophrastus  says,  that  the  wine  of  Thaos  is  wonder- 
fully delicious,  for  it  is  well  seasoned ;  for  they  knead  up 
dough  and  honey,  and  put  that  into  the  earthern  jars,  so 
that  the  wine  receives  fragrance  from  itself  and  sweet- 
ness from  the  honey." 

But  with  all  this  mixing  of  sea  water  and  dough,  the 
poets  of  those  days  had  to  sing  "  Temperance,"  if  not 
"  Total  Abstinence,"  songs.  It  seems  to  have  been  the 
idea  of  Eubulus  that  three  glasses  of  wine  were  enough 
for  any  man,  as  he  introduces  Bacchus,  as  saying, 

"  Let  them  three  parts  of  wine  all  duly  season, 
"With  nme  of  water,  who  'd  preserve  their  reason ; 
The  first  gives  health,  the  second  sweet  desire ; 
The  third  tranquillity  and  sleep  inspire : 
These  are  the  wholesome  draughts  which  wise  men  please, 
Who  from  the  banquet  home  return  in  peace. 
From  a  fourth  measure  insolence  proceeds : 


WINE     AND     WELCOME.  91 

Uproar  a  fifth ;  a  sixth  wOd  licease  breeds ; 
A  seventh  brings  black  eyes  and  Uvid  bruises ; 
The  eighth  the  constable  next  introduces ; 
Black  gall  and  hatred  lurk  the  ninth  beneath ; 
The  tenth  is  madness,  arms,  and  fearful  death. 
For  too  much  wine  poured  in  one  little  vessel, 
Trips  up  all  those  who  seek  with  it  to  wrestle." 

Very  good  advice  of  Mr.  Bacchus ;  and  as  the  three 
glasses  of  wine  imply  three  tumblers  of  water,  they  may 
very  safely  be  taken,  we  think. 

Having  seen  the  wonders  of  the  wine  store,  we  pro- 
posed taking  leave  of  the  family  and  continuing  our  way, 
but  Mr.  Cloete  had  had  the  horses  taken  out  of  our  cart, 
and  2)rohibited  aU  such  movements  by  saying  we  were 
all  now  going  in  to  "  tiffin" — for  already  do  they  begin  to 
talk  East  Indian — and  so  in  to  tiffin  we  went.  Our  ar- 
rival had  hit  a  happy  occasion.  A  large  number  of  his 
very  large  relationship,  including  nejAews  and  nieces, 
had  met  at  Mr.  Cloete's  house  to  celebrate  his  birthday, 
and  upon  our  i-eturn  we  found  the  whole  party  assembled 
in  the  drawing-room,  not  stiff  and  stately,  but  easy,  joy- 
ous, and  chatty ;  so  unconscious  of  the  presence  of  stran- 
gers that  we  forgot  we  were  such. 

"  Tiffin"  seems  a  light  and  ethereal  sort  of  a  name 
enough,  but  call  it,  more  substantially,  lunch,  and  yet  the 
word  does  not  give  a  correct  idea  to  our  minds  of  the 
full  meal  which  it  really  is — in  fact  one  of  our  most  solid 
family  dinners. 

We  had  hot  meats  and  vegetables,  ale  and  wine,  fol- 
lowed by  preserves  and  the  most  delicious  peaches,  mel- 
ons, and  grapes  of  "  Constancia." 

The  magnificent  Icoj^ard  we  had  noticed  on  the  floor, 
Mr.  Cloete  told  us  he  had  shot  himself,  about  twelve 
miles  from  his  house,  and  shot  him  with  buck-shot,  when 
the  distance  between  the  parties  was  little  more  than  two 


92  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

gun  lengtlis,  and  the  leopard  crouched  on  a  limb  ready 
for  a  spring.  But  in  pleasant  social  intercourse  and  an- 
ecdotes of  colonial  life, 

"As  bees  flee  hamo  wi'  lades  of  treasure, 
The  minutes  winged  their  way  with  pleasure ; 
Nae  man  can  tether  time  nor  tide ; 
The  hour  approaches,  we  maun  ride." 

And  therefore,  taking  leave  of  this  agreeable  family,  we 
once  more  trundled  on  in  our  cart  to  Simon's  Bay,  much 
of  our  talk  being  of  the  enjoyment  which  a  com'teous  hos- 
pitality had  thrown  into  a  few  hours  of  our  wanderings, 
and  making  those  unknown  to  us  yesterday,  associated 
for  the  future  with  pleasant  memories. 

There  is,  necessarily,  an  intercourse  of  formal  courtesy 
in  our  association  abroad  with  the  official  representatives 
of  foi'eign  powers  and  the  members  of  services  correspond- 
ing to  our  own,  with  whom  we  may  come  into  contact.  ' 
With  every  nation  but  the  English,  this  formality  scarcely 
ever  becomes  any  thing  else ;  but  with  the  English,  our 
relations  are  scarcely  ever  stationary.  They  run  into  in- 
timate friendship  or  strong  rej^ulsion,  and  the  whole  dif- 
ference may  depend  upon  the  most  trivial  and  accidental 
circumstances  of  a  first  meeting.  The  tempers  and  pe- 
culiarities of  the  individual  who  makes  the  first  official 
call,  either  freezes  our  association  into  the  stitfened  for- 
mality by  no  means  agreeable  or  congenial  to  any  party, 
tinges  it  with  bitterness,  or  throws  down  the  barriers  of 
national  difference,  and  mingles  us  in  such  friendly  union 
that  we  are  almost  inclined  to  ask,  occasionally,  whether  a 
different  flag  flies  over  us.  The  latter  was  the  character 
of  our  associations  with  the  naval  authorities  of  the  Cape, 
The  time,  and  the  pur[:)oses  of  politicians,  were  then 
threatening  a  hostile  conflict  between  ourselves  and  those 
from  whom  we  were  then  receiving  so  many  cordial  kind- 


WINK     AND     WELCOME.  93 

nesses  and  courtesies.  Having  ridden  over  from  Cape 
Town  to  Simon's  Bay  upon  a  day  when  there  had  been 
an  arrival  from  Europe  bringing,  in  all  the  papers,  the 
letters  of  Caleb  Cashing  and  the  articles  of  the  London 
Times,  we  found  some  of  our  English  friends,  including 
three  lieutenants  of  the  Royal  Navy,  awaiting  our  ar- 
rival, with  a  comfortable  dinner — a  desirable  terminus  to 
a  ride  of  twenty-four  miles.  In  mid-meal,  and  its  social 
friendships,  I  mentioned  the  recent  war  news  :  it  fell  with 
startling  effect  upon  this  little  group.  One  of  the  party 
was  proud  of  a  medal  given  him  by  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  for  deeds  of  courageous  humanity ;  and  the 
others  had  survived  the  battle  of  Inkermann,  and  other 
Crimean  horrors.     One  of  these  remarked, 

"  It  will  be  hard,  if  after  associating  so  j)leasantly  and 
so  friendly  together,  they  set  us  to  cutting  each  other's 
throats." 

I  think  that  English  officers  do  not  interest  themselves 
so  much  as  we  do  in  the  politics  which  may  place  them 
in  hostile  positions  with  other  nations. 

"What 'sit  all  about?"  said  one.  "I  do  not  under- 
stand what  we  are  to  fight  for.  I  know  we  do  not  want 
your  country,  and  I  suppose  you  do  not  want  ours." 

I  explained  to  him  the  mysteries  of  foreign  enlistment, 
San  Juan,  Cuba,  etc.,  as  well  as  I  could.  He  was  a  true 
man,  a  bold,  yet  modest,  bluff,  and  single-hearted  sailor, 
by  no  means  given  to  sentimentality  ;  and  hence  almost 
picturesque  was  the  deep  sadness  which  fell  over  his 
strongly  marked  face,  as  he  laid  down  his  knife,  leaned 
on  the  table,  and  bowed  his  head,  and  in  a  meditative 
manner,  as  if  thinking  aloud,  said, 

"  Alas !  alas !  they  do  n't  know  the  horrors  of  such  a 
war.  If  they  did,  they  would  be  careful  how  they  bring 
it  about." 

As  the  foUowhig  concluding  correspondence  between 


94  THKVOYAGEOUT. 

Commodore,  now  Admiral,  Trotter,  and  Commodore 
Armstrong,  has  a  semi-ollicial  character,  I  can  see  no  im- 
propriety in  its  insertion  here. 

"  Ukited  States  Flag  Ship  San  Jacinto, 
"Simon's  Bay,  January  28,  1856. 
"  My  Dear  Commodore, 

"I  should  have  done  myself  the  honor  to  have 
made  you  a  call  this  morning,  but  pressing  duties  have 
prevented  me  from  doing  so. 

"  I  embrace  this  occasion  to  thank  you  officially  and 
personally  for  the  assistance  rendered  this  ship,  and  for 
the  many  civilities  extended  to  myself  and  officers  since 
our  arrival  at  Simon's  Bay. 

"  Have  the  kindness  to  present  my  respectful  compli- 
ments to  your  lady  and  niece. 

"  Believe  me  your 

"  Obliged  friend  and 
"  Obedient  servant, 

"  James  Armstrong, 

"  Commanding  United  States  Naval  Forces, 
"East  India  and  China  Seas." 

"  Commodore  Trotter, 

"Commanding  Her  Majesty's  Naval  Forces  and  Station, 

"  Simon's  Bay, 
"  Cape  of  Good  Hope."  ■• 


"  Her  Majesty's  Ship  Castor, 

"  Simon's  Bay,  2mh  January,  1856. 
"  Mt  Dear  Commodore, 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
your  letter  of  this  date,  and  I  beg  most  sincerely  to  thank 
you  for  the  kind  manner  in  which  you  are  good  enough 
to  express  yourself  in  reference  to  the  little  assistance  it 
has  been  in  our  power  to  affiard  the  '  San  Jacinto,'  and 
to  the  endeavors  to  make  your  stay  here  agreeable. 


MAURITIUS.  95 

"  Permit  me  to  say,  and  I  express  the  feeling  not  only 
of  myself  and  family  and  the  officers  of  the  squadron,  but 
of  the  community  in  general,  that  your  visit  has  been  an 
especial  pleasure  to  us  all,  and  Mrs.  Trotter  and  my  niece 
beg  me  to  say  how  much  they  regret  not  having  had  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  you  once  more. 

"  Wishing  you  a  pleasant  voyage,  and  every  success 
and  haj^piness  in  your  interesting  and  important  com- 
mand, 

"  I  beg  you  ^vill  believe  me  very  truly, 
"  And  with  much  respect, 
"  Your  obliged  friend  and  humble  servant, 
"H.  D.  Teoitee, 

"Commodore,  Commanding  Her  Majesty's  Naval  Forces 
"  on  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  Station. 

"  Commodore  Armsteoxg, 

"  Commanding  the  United  States 

"  Naval  Forces  in  the  East  India  and  China  Seas,  etc.,  etc." 


X. 


MAURITIUS. 

On  the  28th  of  January  we  sailed  from  Simon's  Bay, 
and  passed  into  the  Indian  Ocean,  bound  for  Mauritius.  On 
the  evening  of  the  following  day  the  wind  freshened,  the  sea 
dashed  in  shorter  waves  and  with  more  angry  fury ;  every 
thing  set  was  close-reefed,  and  things  looked  like  the  be- 
ginning of  a  gale.  As  the  night  closed  darkly  over  us  the 
sea  foamed  and  roared  wildly  around  us  ;  but  every  thing 
was  snug  and  comfortable  inboard.  The  jib  had  been 
hauled  down,  and  the  captain  of  the  forecastle  sent  some 
forecastle  hands  out  to  stow  it.  Among  them  was  an 
Irish  boy  by  the  name  of  McFarren.     With  the  cxcep- 


96  THEVOTAGEOUT. 

tion  of  the  roll,  and  the  pitch,  which  made  one  grasp  at 
something  for  sujjport,  as  I  said,  every  thing  was  snug  and 
comfortable  inboard.  One  of  the  lieutenants  and  I  were 
chatting  at  the  ward-room  table,  Avhen  suddenly  there 
came  from  the  deck,  that  sound  which,  without  hearing 
a  single  word,  you  know  means  a  life  in  danger.  "  What's 
that !"  I  exclaimed  involuntaiily,  but  I  spoke  to  the  air. 
"With  the  first  alarm  that  reached  us,  my  companion  had 
sjDrung  to  the  deck.  I  followed  him.  A  man  overboard 
— overboard  on  such  a  night,  in  such  a  sea !  Every  one 
feels  that  something  ought  to  be  done,  but  what  ?  It  was 
not  a  night  to  order  any  one  out  ujjon  the  water.  There 
was  no  necessity  for  such  an  order — a  crew  of  volunteers, 
headed  by  the  gentleman  who  had  so  suddenly  left  me  in 
the  ward-room,  stood  ready  for  the  hazardous  duty. 

The  most  suitable  boat,  the  whale-boat,  happened  to  be 
on  the  weather  side.  They  commenced  lowering  a  lee 
boat,  but  the  attemjDt  was  abandoned  as  useless.  Where 
were  they  now  to  pull  for  ?  We  had  already  plunged  on 
some  distance  in  the  darkness.  At  the  stern  hung  two 
life  buoys,  Avith  port-fires  attached,  intended  to  explode 
and  burn  some  time  after  reaching  the  water,  to  show  a 
drowning  man  where  to  find  them,  and  a  boat  where  to  find 
him.  The  strings  had  been  pulled,  both  had  broken,  and 
neither  port-fire  Hghted.  The  boy  was  heard  shrieking 
and  gurgling  in  two  successive  moments,  first  n^^ar  the 
gangway,  and  then  under  the  stern,  and  this  was  the  last 
of  our  first  tribute  to  the  Indian  Ocean. 

On  the  14th  of  February  we  had  Mauritius  in  sight 
early  in  the  morning.  The  weather  was  hot  and  gusty,  with 
heavy  thunder  squalls.  It  was  a  race  with  daylight  and  our 
getting  into  port,  and  as  the  day  wore  on  in  haze  and 
gloom,  our  hopes  sank.  At  dark,  when  ofi"  the  port,  and 
the  shipping  in  sight,  we  fired  a  gun  and  hoisted  a  jack 
for  a  pilot,  but  no  pilot  came.     We,  therefore,  lay  off  the 


MAURITIUS.  97 

harbor  of  Port  Louis  until  the  following  morning,  when 
the  pilot  came  to  us,  and  we  ran  into  the  narrow  channel 
which  forms  the  harbor.  Now  we  had,  clear  and  distinct, 
all  the  peculiar  features  of  the  scenery.  Back  against  the 
sky  cut  the  clear  outline  of  the  mountains,  and  nowhere 
are  they  more  remarkable,  Peter  Botte  being,  however, 
the  most  conspicuous.  In  front  of  the  mountain  range 
rose  a  bright  green  hill,  and  around  this  hiU  clustered  the 
houses  of  Port  Louis.  On  our  left,  as  we  ran  in,  was  a 
rock-buUt  fortress,  and  the  point  on  our  right,  also  fortified, 
was  covered  with  groves  of  palms. 

The  activity  of  the  harbor  was  a  surprise.  I  expected 
to  see  some  shipping,  but  here  before  us  was  a  dense  forest 
of  masts,  moored  in  rows  on  each  side  of  a  central  chan- 
nel. We  moored  outside  this  commercial  marine,  and  in 
due  season  banged  away  our  salute.  A  Babel  confusion 
of  tongues  shook  the  air  of  this  crowded  harbor.  Crews 
of  more  than  half-naked  darkies  were  singing  and  yelling 
at  the  various  labors  of  the  port — loading  and  unloading 
vessels,  arranging  moorings,  etc.,  etc.  A  loud  cry  of  hu- 
man voices  arose  with  swelling  and  not  unpleasant  cadence 
upon  the  air.  It  came  from  a  pyramid  of  copper-colored 
human  beings,  some  clad  in  gay  colored  rags  and  some 
not  clad  at  all,  who  thronged  the  decks,  lined  tlie  sides, 
and  rose  one  above  another  on  the  various  elevated  points 
of  the  ship — all  shouting  and  singing.  These  were  Coolies, 
and  East  Indians  who  had  served  out  their  five  years'  labor, 
and  were  returning  to  their  homes. 

Our  entrance  to  the  harbor  of  Port  Louis,  and  the  dis- 
covery of  our  peaceable  designs  and  character,  relieved 
the  inhabitants  from  quite  a  panic.  The  war  talk  between 
the  United  States  and  England  reached  these  remote  re- 
gions with  exaggerated  effect,  and  when,  on  the  preceding 
evening,  we  were  discovered  off  the  island,  an  impression 
was  originated  which,  growing  like  tlie  throe  black  crows, 

5 


08  T  U  Ji     V  O  Y  A  G  E     O  U  T  . 

by  the  morniug  had  exaggerated  us  into  three  American 
frigates,  and  an  alhed  Russian  force,  conodng  to  take  the 
island. 

Mauritius  celebrities  are  "  Peter  Botte,"  hurricanes,  and 
its  being  the  scene  of  the  truth-founded  romance  of  Paul 
and  Yirgiuia.  Its  support  is  sugar.  Sugar  is  the  prac- 
tical thing;  it  swallows  up  all  romance ;  it  roots  up  jungle, 
cuts  down  ornamental  groves,  destroys  aromatic  forests 
— nutmegs,  cinnamon  and  cloves.  The  efforts  of  the  ear- 
lier settlers,  their  lives  and  labors,  were  given  to  making 
Mauritius  a  spice  island — and  the  spice  trees  succeeded. 
Where  are  they  now  ? — given  way  to  sugar.  Why  do  n't 
you  grow  this,  and  Avhy  do  n't  you  grow  that  ? — neces- 
saries and  luxuries.  They  would  do  well,  but  every  thing 
must  give  way  to  sugar.  Sugar  is  dollars.  It  was  not  the 
rise  and  fall  of  empires,  the  results  of  battles,  which  were 
signalized  from  the  telegraph  posts  perched  on  Signal 
hill,  but  "  Sugar  has  risen,"  "  Sugar  has  fallen,  faUen, 
fallen,"  was  the  depressing  news  at  the  time  of  our  pres- 
ence ;  and  throughout  this  volcanic  speck  of  mountain 
and  plain,  thirty-five  miles  long  by  thirty  broad,  and  its 
mottled  population  of  over  one  hundred  thousand  souls,  it 
caused  quite  a  panic.  Of  the  population,  about  fifty  thou- 
sand are  in  the  city  of  Port  Louis. 

Discovered  by  Mascaregnas,  the  Portuguese,  in  1505, 
it  was  merely  looked  at  and  abandoned,  being,  however, 
named  Cerne.  Xearly  a  century  afterwards,  in  1598,  a 
Dutch  admiral  accidentally  found  it,  and  usmg  it  to  re- 
cover his  sick,  the  Dutch  also  abandoned  it,  but  called 
it  after  their  Prince  ^Maurice — Mauritius.  Xeai-ly  half 
a  century  afterwards,  in  1644,  the  Dutch  settled  it,  but 
in  about  another  fifty  years  they  abandoned  it,  being 
Iriven  away  by  slaves  whom  they  had  stolen  from  the 
neighboring  island  of  Madagascar,  and  who,  escaped  to 
I  he  woods,  became  wild  maroons.     The  prodigious  number 


MAURITIUS.  99 

of  rats,  it  is  said,  also  assisted  in  this  expulsion.  Then, 
in  I'/IS,  came  along  the  French,  and  called  it  the  "Isle 
of  France,"  and  set  themselves  to  work  to  make  it  a  spice 
island.  Still  it  was  a  hard  case,  and  was  about  being  again 
abandoned  to  its  loneliness,  when  fortunately  it  came  un- 
der the  genius  of  M.  La  Bourdonnais  as  governor,  who 
strengthened,  defended,  and  watered  the  capital,  gave 
security  to  the  population,  developed  its  resources,  and 
directed  it  to  such  results  as  now  crowd  its  ports  with 
shipping  to  carry  away  one  hundred  thousand  tons  of 
sugar  a  year.  But  M.  La  Bourdonnais,  to  do  all  this, 
had  to  be  very  suj^erior  to  everybody  around  him,  and 
consequently  had  to  earn  their  hate  and  calumny,  to  en- 
dure iiersecution,  imprisonment,  and  to  die  an  obscure 
and  impoverished  death.  But  what  need  M.  La  Bour- 
donnais care  for  all  this?  He  has  been  dead  now  one 
hundred  years,  and  the  English  are  about  to  erect  a  mon- 
ument to  so  great  a  man. 

By  the  treaty  of  Paris,  in  1814,  the  island  passed  into 
the  hands  of  the  British  government,  by  which  it  is  now 
held,  and  garrisoned  by  her  troops.  The  French  resi- 
dents submit  to  this  with  a  very  bad  grace,  and  there  is 
but  little  intercourse  between  the  Enfjlish  and  French. 
Louis  Napoleon  has  rechiistened  the  neighboring  isle  of 
Bourbon,  in  view  of  the  present  alliance,  "Reunion,"  but 
the  French  of  Mauritius  express  the  hope  that  the  final 
settlement  of  this  war  will  find  Mauritius  restored  to 
themselves. 

One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  Port  Louis  is  the 
motley  population  and  motley  costumes  which  are  met  in 
the  streets.  Li  mid-ocean,  on  the  high-road  between 
Asia,  Africa,  Europe  and  America,  it  seems  to  have  gath- 
ered in  the  peoples  and  peculiarities  of  all  quarters  of 
the  globe. 

As  in  architecture  there  are  certain  fundamental  jirin- 


100  T  II  E     V  O  Y  A  G  E     O  U  T  . 

ciples  derived  from  the  simple  forms  and  teachings  of  na- 
ture, and  from  wliich,  by  taste  and  utility,  are  educed  the 
elaborate  iinish  of  the  most  complicated  structures,  so,  in 
the  streets  of  Port  Louis,  it  is  seen  there  are  similar  nat- 
ural fundamental  principles  of  costume,  from  which  as- 
cend by  gradation  every  addition,  until  dress  reaches  the 
high  finish  of  the  French  and  English  ladies  and  gentle- 
men, who  are  driving  among  their  more  simply  clad 
bronze-colored  brethren.  The  first  and  most  simple  neces- 
sity of  dress  seems  to  be  a  cloth  about  the  size  of  a  nap- 
kin, substituted  for  the  primitive  fig-leaf,  and  many  are 
met  in  the  thronged  streets  of  the  city  with  only  this 
much  of  a  garment.  The  next  grows  to  a  sheet  folded 
around  the  loins  in  fuller  covering.  The  head  seems  then 
to  claim  the  attention  of  the  more  dressy.  In  addition 
to  the  articles  already  named,  some  have  a  tight-fitting 
skull  cap  of  figured  calico  uj^on  the  head,  but  turbans, 
full  and  flowing,  white,  colored  and  scarlet,  are  the  more 
fashionable  head-dress.  And  in  the  streets  and  on  the 
roads  many  a  slender  Lascar  and  Hindoo  is  met,  whose 
only  costume  is  the  loin  cloth  and  a  scarlet  turban,  with 
long  tails  hanging  down  his  bronzed  back.  The  next  ad- 
dition is  a  bright  figured  muslin,  though  scant,  jacket, 
buttoned  lightly  over  the  shoulders  and  breast.  "What 
the  females  want  in  muslin  they  endeavor  to  make  up  in 
the  weight  of  metal  thrust  through  their  noses  and  ears. 
So  it  is  bright  and  heavy,  shape  and  symmetry  seem  to 
be  of  little  consequence.  Xot  only  the  lobe  of  the  ears  is 
heavy  with  the  irregular  pendants,  but  all  along  the- outer 
rim  and  the  top  are  j^erforations  distended  with  golden- 
colored  bars,  plugs  and  rings.  An  especially  favorite  orna- 
ment is  a  ring  of  about  the  circumference  of  a  tea-plate, 
dependent  from  the  nose.  But  with  all  this  barbaric 
decoration,  the  gay  colors,  the  caps,  the  turbans,  the  dark 
hues  of  the  slender,  wiry,  graceful  figures  are  picturesque, 


MAURITIUS.  101 

and  the  snowy  flowing  robes,  full  trowsers  and  spotless  tur- 
bans of  the  full-clad  Parsees  and  Arab  merchants,  moving 
among  all  this  variety,  give  and  receive  a  pleasing  effect 
from  the  contrast  of  spotless  white  and  full  clothing  with 
varied  colors  and  naked  skins.  These  lightly-costumed 
Indians  are  the  laborers,  small  farmers,  hucksters,  me- 
chanics, market  tenders,  etc.  Their  villages  of  small  filthy 
straw  huts  are  clustered  around  the  outskirts  of  the  city, 
and  rude  signs,  with  imspellable  and  unj^ronounceable 
Hindoo  names,  announce  that  they  are  jewelers,  tailors, 
shoemakers,  carpenters  and  cabinet-makers.  As  a  speci- 
men of  some  of  the  names  found  among  these  people,  I 
will  give  the  following  from  the  top  of  a  quarter  box 
of  cigars  which  I  bought : 

MA  SOO  SA  NA  VA  ROW  YOU  LOO. 

(Ra  Va.) 
AT  JAGGERNAIKPOORAM. 

These  people  were  originally  brought  into  the  island  by 
the  British  government  as  a  substitute  for  the  negro  pop- 
ulation, rendered  worthless  by  the  emancipation  of  1835. 
They  are  compelled  to  serve  five  years  of  what  is  called 
"industrial  residence,"  and  the  best  of  these  men  get 
thi-ee  dollars  a  month  wages.  At  the  end  of  the  five 
years,  if  they  desire  it,  they  are  returned  to  their  own 
country,  but  most  jirefer  to  remain  Avhere  they  are,  and 
enter  into  various  pursuits  upon  their  own  account.  Dur- 
ing their  tenn  of  servitude  they  are  liable  to  coercion,  but 
can  complain  against  undue  severity.  A  regular  slave- 
trade  transaction  has  just  taken  place.  A  ship  came  in 
from  the  coast  of  Africa  with  a  cargo  of  negroes,  and  they 
were  sold  at  eighty  dollars  each,  nominally  for  tlio  passage 
money.  They  had  been  kidnapped  and  stolen  from  Afri- 
ca.    This  in  an  English  possession  ! 


102  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

One  of  the  necessary  and  agreeable  pilgrimages  of  Mau- 
ritius is  a  visit  to  the  Canton  Pampelmousses,  about  six 
miles  from  Port  Louis,  where  tradition  deposits  the  re- 
mains of  Paul  and  Virginia.  Whether  this  be  true  or  not, 
it  is  but  a  just  tribute  to  the  beauty  of  the  story  to  visit 
the  scenes  associated  with  it ;  besides,  the  drive  is  a  beau- 
tiful one,  and  near  the  reputed  tombs  is  the  botanical 
garden. 

I  am  not,  however,  disposed  to  accord  in  the  incredulous 
view  which  some  have  been  disposed  to  take  of  this  beau- 
tiful tale.  It  is  certain  the  St.  Geran  was  wrecked  ip  1745, 
and  St.  Pierre,  in  his  preface,  says : — "  I  can  give  the  as- 
surance that  those  of  whom  I  speak  truly  existed,  and  that 
the  histoiy  is  true  in  its  j^rincipal  events.  They  have  been 
certified  to  me  by  many  inhabitants  whom  I  knew  in  the 
Isle  of  France,  and  I  have  only  added  some  indifferent 
circumstances."  The  reputed  tombs  are  shabby,  crumb- 
ling little  monuments  of  brick  and  plaster,  standing  in  a 
bamboo  grove  on  a  j^rivate  estate,  and  having  neither  in- 
scription nor  name. 

Remarkable  and  conspicuous  is  the  mountain  of  Peter 
Botte.  From  the  sharp,  steeple-like  pinnacle  of  a  mountain 
rises  a  mass  of  rock,  shaped  like  an  inverted  pyramid  rest- 
ing on  its  apex,  and  the  base  overhanging  the  sides  of  the 
mountain.  To  ascend  to  the  top  of  this  capping  rock  is 
at  once  seen  to  be  an  achievement  of  great  difficulty  and 
danger.  The  name  is  derived  from  an  unfortunate  French- 
man, who,  having  made  the  ascent,  lost  his  life  in  return- 
ing. It  was,  however,  successfully  made  by  a  party  of 
English  officers,  in  1832,  and  one  of  them,  Lieutenant 
Taylor,  wrote  an  account  of  the  feat,  which  was  published 
in  the  third  volume  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society. 
The  following  extracts  from  this  narrative  wUl  give  some 
idea  of  the  difficulty  of  the  enteii^rise :  With  much  labor 
they  had  ascended  to  the  shoulder  of  the  mountain,  from 


MAURITIUS.  103 

which  rises,  for  over  three  hnndred  feet,  the  neck  or  pin- 
nacle upon  which  rests  Peter  Botte.     To  ascend  this  neck 
was  in  itself  a  great  difficulty.     A  negro,  who  held  on 
with  hands  and  feet  like  a  monkey,  climbed  up  the  sides 
with  a  rope,  which  he  made  fast  above,  and  up  this  rope 
the  party  shinned.      Mr.  Taylor  informs  us  "  it  was  awful 
work.     In  several  places  the  ridge  ran  to  an  edge  not  a 
foot  broad  ;  and  I  could,  as  I  held  on  half  sitting,  half 
kneeling  across  the   ridge,  have   kicked   my  right  shoe 
down  to  the  plain  on  one  side,  and  my  left  into  the  bot- 
tom of  the  ravine  upon  the  other.     I  held  on  uncommonly 
hard,  and  was  very  well  satisfied  when  I  was  safe  under 
the  neck.     And  a  more  extraordinary  situation  I  never 
was  in.     The  head,  which  is  an  enormous  mass  of  rock, 
about  thirty-five  feet  in  height,  overhangs  its  base  many 
feet  on  every  side.     A  ledge  of  tolerably  level  rock  runs 
round  three  sides  of  the  base,  about  six  feet  in  width, 
bounded  everywhere  by  the  abrupt  edge  of  the  precipice, 
except  in  the  spot  where  it  is  joined  by  the  ridge,  up  which 
we  climbed.     In  one  sj^ot  the  head,  though  overhanging 
its  base  several  feet,  reaches  only  perpendicular  over  the 
edge  of  the  precipice,  and  most  fortunately  it  was  at  the 
very  spot  where  we  mounted.     Here  it  was  we  reckoned 
on  getting  up.     Lloyd  had  prepared  some  iron  arrows 
with  thongs  to  fii-e  over,  and,  having  got  up  a  gun,  he 
made  a  hne  fast  around  his  body,  which  we  all  held  on, 
and  going  over  the  edge  of  the  precijDice  on  the  opposite 
side,  he  leaned  back  against  the  line,  and  fired  over  the 
least  projecting  part.    Had  the  line  broken  he  would  have 
fallen  eighteen  hundred  feet.     Twice  this  failed,  and  then 
he  had  recourse  to  a  large  stone  with  a  lead  hne,  which 
swung   diagonally,  and   seemed    to   be    a  feasible    plan. 
Several  times  he  made  beautiful  heaves,  but  the  provok- 
ing line  would  not  catch,  and  away  went  the  stones  far 
down    below,  till  at    length  yEolus,  pleased,  I  suppose, 


101  T  II  E     V  O  Y  A  G  K     O  U  T  . 

with  his  performance,  gave  us  a  shift  of  Avind  for  about  a 
minute,  and  over  went  the  stone,  and  was  eagerly  seized 
on  the  opposite  side.  '  Hurrah,  my  lads,  steady 's  the 
word  !'  Three  lengths  of  ladder  were  put  together  on 
the  ledge  ;  a  large  line  was  attached  to  the  one  which  was 
over  the  head,  and  carefully  drawn  up,  and  finally  a  two 
inch  rope,  to  the  extremity  of  which  we  lashed  the  top  of 
our  ladder,  then  lowered  it  gently  over  the  precipice  un- 
til it  hung  jjerpendicularly,  and  was  steadied  by  two  ne- 
groes on  the  ridge  below.  '  All  right  now,  hoist  away  !' 
and  up  went  the  ladder  until  the  foot  came  to  the  edge 
of  our  ledge,  where  it  was  lashed  in  fii-mly  to  the  neck. 
We  then  hauled  away  on  the  guy  to  steady  it,  and  made 
it  fast.  A  line  was  passed  over  by  the  lead  line  to  hold 
on,  and  up  went  Lloyd,  screeching  and  hallooing,  and  we 
all  three  scrambled  after  him.  The  Union  Jack  and  a 
boat-hook  were  passed  up,  and  old  England's  flag  waved 
freely  and  gallantly  on  the  redoubted  Peter  Botte." 

On  the  21st  of  February  we  cast  off  from  our  moorings, 
and  got  under  way  for  Ceylon. 


XI 


CEYLON. 


"  Ebony  and  topaz."  Not  the  sentimental  contrasted 
blackness  and  brightness  of  the  thrice  venerable  John 
Quincy  Adams,  but  real  material  ebony  chairs,  sofas, 
bureaus,  boxes,  canes  richly  carved,  and  glittering  masses 
of  topaz,  in  the  shops  and  on  the  streets,  with  sapphires, 
rubies  and  amethysts,  are  the  prominent  fii-st  impressions 
of  Ceylon,  as  we  are  introduced  to  it  at  the  pretty  walled 
and  embowered  town  of  Galle. 


CETLON.  105 

Bishop  Heber's  beautiful  missionary  hymn  has  so  asso- 
ciated the  fi-agrance  of  sjoices  and  poesy  with  this  island 
that  one  feels  reluctant  to  break  the  bonds  of  genius  which 
have  thus  bound  them  together ;  but  true  it  is,  the  "  spicy 
breezes"  are  wafted  only  by  the  j^oet's  imagination. 

In  the  first  watch  of  the  night  of  March  5th,  1856,  we 
made  the  light  of  Point  de  Galle,  gleaming  over  the  sea 
like  a  "  star  on  life's  tremulous  ocean,"  and  on  the  follow- 
ing morning  the  tall  and  graceful  white  shaft,  standing 
on  the  extreme  point  of  Ceylon,  indicated  to  us  the  "  fort" 
and  city.     A  pilot  boarded  us  and  took  us  in. 

It  was  a  quiet  and  lonely  looking  spot,  with  but  few  ves- 
sels at  the  anchorage.  As  we  ran  in,  however,  the  har- 
bor became  suddenly  alive.  A  crowd  of  boats,  thronged 
with  bronzed  Cingalese,  announced  their  rapid  approach 
to  us  by  the  confused  clattering  of  many  voices. 

Queer  looking  boats  they  were,  and  won  much  of  our 
attention.  They  seemed  to  be  two  planks,  about  six  inches 
apart,  coming  end  on  to  us,  floating  on  the  edge  and  carry- 
ing a  heavy  press  of  canvas.  The  planks  rested  upon  a  canoe 
beneath  them,  and  out-riggers  to  a  log,  sharpened  at  both 
ends,  kept  them  up  in  the  water  when  under  sail.  Models 
of  these  boats  are  among  the  curiosities  sold  visitors. 

From  these  unique  boats  our  glance  is  to  the  chat- 
tering, jabbering,  shrieking,  scolding,  quarreling  human 
beings  on  board  of  them.  Their  costume  is  attractive. 
At  Galle  a  little  book  has  been  pubHshed  called  the 
"  Guide  to  Galle,"  in  which,  alluding  to  a  part  of  Ceylon, 
it  is  said  :  "  The  rainy  season  extends  from  December  to 
May,  and  from  May  to  December  the  season  is  wet."  So, 
in  describing  the  costume  of  our  new  acquaintance,  I 
would  say — from  the  head  to  the  hips  there  are  no  clothes, 
and  from  the  hips  to  the  heels  about  the  same. 

On  shore  we  found  ourselves  among  a  varied  population 
of  Asiatics.     The  Cingalese,  with  glossy  jet-black  hair 

5^- 


100  THE     VOY  AGE     OUT. 

smoothly  put  back  from  the  forehead  by  a  semicircular 
tortoise-shell  comb,  and  done  up  in  a  knot  at  the  back  of 
the  head.  Beneath  this  feminine  arrangement  are  features 
covered  with  a  fine  skin,  only  less  dark  than  the  hair,  of 
delicate  and  feminine  form  and  expression,  so  that  all  the 
young  look  like  girls  to  our  unskilled  eyes,  a  confusion 
which  is  increased  by  the  white  or  bright-colored  "  come- 
boy" — a  shawl  folded  as  a  petticoat  around  the  waist, 
and  worn  alike  by  the  more  respectable  of  either  sex. 
The  women,  however,  wear  a  short  jacket,  dropping  over 
the  breasts,  and  leaving  the  body  exposed  between  that 
and  the  comeboy.  Like  the  boatmen  we  first  saw,  the loids 
of  the  lower  class  indulge  in  no  such  waste  of  muslin,  but 
are  content  with  that  amount  of  costume  which  is  a'bare 
insufficiency.  All  have  black  teeth  and  bloody  looking 
mouths,  from  the  use  of  betel,  mixed  with  lime,  and  pepper 
leaves. 

Moormen,  in  Arab  parti-colored  caps,  with  shaven  heads, 
and  voluminous  shawls  wrapped  around  their  waists,  are 
everywhere  at  our  heels,  on  the  shores,  in  the  streets,  in 
the  hotels  and  the  halls  of  private  houses ;  even  on  the 
road-side,  to  the  distance  of  some  miles  in  the  country,  they 
appear  import uningly.  These  Moormen  are  the  traders 
in  jewelry  and  precious  stones.  Jewel  boxes  are  taken 
from  the  folds  of  their  shawls,  and  sap2:)hires,  rubies,  ame- 
thysts, carbuncles,  emeralds,  cat's  eyes,  and  moon  stones, 
displayed  in  gorgeous  abundance,  or  else  good  Enghsh 
and  French  imitations  of  these  valuables. 

Prices  are  coolly  asked  for  these  little  glittering  or- 
naments which  would  indicate  that  money  was  in  great 
abundance  at  Point  de  Galle.  Fifty,  seventy-five,  one, 
two  hundred  dollars  for  what,  in  your  uneducated  judg- 
ment, you  hoped  to  win  a  wife  or  sweetheart's  smile,  at 
the  cost  of  only  five  or  ten.  One  of  these  street  peddlers 
profiered  to  sell  me  a  sapphire  for  fifteen  hundred  dollars  ; 


CKTLON.  107 

and  in  a  shop  having  over  its  door  a  sign,  "  Guaranteed 
Jewehy,"  I  was  shown  a  cat's  eye,  which  the  proprietor 
professed  to  vakie  at  two  thousand  dollars, 

Ethnograjjliers,  in  their  classification  of  races,  should  make 
one  of  the  mendicant  or  begging  races ;  and  this  character- 
istic would  give  us  at  once  all  the  subordinate  and  m- 
ferior  qualities  which  fill  the  vacuum  of  absent  self-respect. 
While  to  the  Malabar  or  Moorman  is  left  this  trade  in 
jewels  and  gold-mounted  tortoise-shell  bracelets,  the  Cm- 
galese  himself  follows  you  with  porcupine-quill  baskets, 
carved  ebony  boxes,  canes,  etc. ;  and  if  he  has  nothing  in 
the  shape  of  trade  by  which  to  rob  the  passing  strangei', 
he  still  thinks  he  has  the  right  of  contribution,  and  if  you 
glance  at  him  on  the  wayside,  out  comes  his  soliciting 
hand  with  a  salaam  ;  and  smirking  fathers  will  hold  forth 
the  hand  of  the  infant  in  arms,  to  beg  of  the  passer-by. 

It  would  be  curious  to  know  what  idea  a  Cingalese 
resident  of  Point  de  Galle  has  of  Europeans.  This  place 
is  the  first  Indian  touching-point  of  those  young  adven- 
turers to  whom,  being  fresh  from  home,  every  thing  is 
new.  With  life,  and  hope,  and  Indian  fortunes  in  the 
future,  they  are  reckless  of  their  present  limited  means, 
and  in  the  excitement  of  novelty,  scatter  what  is  to  be  so 
readily  and  richly  replaced. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  the  last  stopping-place  in  India 
of  those  golden-skinned,  liver-grown  few,  who  in  the  race 
against  death  for  wealth,  have  jumped  so  often  over  the 
open  graves  into  which  their  fellows  have  fallen ;  and 
when  ihey  reach  this  point  on  their  homeward  voyage, 
they  begin  to  feel  as  though  they  had  distanced  their 
grim  competitor  forever.  They  boast  already  of  their  re- 
newed strength,  their  fieshness  and  vigor;  and  in  the 
exultation  of  their  spirits  are  willing  to  buy,  at  any  cost, 
trinkets  as  tribute  to  the  homes  of  their  childish  memo- 
ries, and  those  whom  they  hope  yet  to  find  in  them.   Tiio 


108  T  H  E     V  O  Y  A  G  E     O  U  T  . 

jewel  merchant  of  Galle  is  a  keen  observer  of  human 
nature,  or  rather  "  passenger"  nature,  and  has  a  home 
and  a  "  passenger"  price  for  his  wares.  After  sorae  Uttle 
detention  at  Galle  had  made  me  familiar  with  these  things, 
I  said  to  one  of  these  peddlers,  "You  scamp,  what  do 
you  mean  by  asking  me  so  much  for  this  thing,  when  you 
know  the  regular  price  is  so  and  so  ?"  *'  I  thought 
master  was  a  passenger,  and  that  is  what  the  passengers 
give  us." 

Soon  after  our  arrival,  one  of  these  peddlers  was  show- 
ing his  wares  to  a  group  of  officers  at  the  ward-room 
table,  when  I,  looking  on,  remarked  of  a  neat  and 
tastefully-set  ring,  "  That  is  the  i^rettiest  thing  he  has 
shown."  The  man,  with  a  graceful  salaam,  at  once 
handed  it  to  me,  and  said,  "I'm  sure  you'll  buy  that." 
I  had  no  intention  of  buying  any  thing,  and  wishing  to 
be  rid  of  his  continued  persuasive  importunity,  I  asked 
the  jDnce.  "  Twelve  pounds."  "  I  '11  give  you  one."  In  a 
dramatic  manner,  he  laid  his  hand  on  his  breast,  and  said, 
"I  thank  you.  I  know,  though,  you  are  but  jesting;  it 
is  not  in  my  heart  to  ask  more  than  the  real  value ;"  and 
with  a  mortified  air,  he  put  up  his  ring  and  went  on  with 
his  sales  to  those  who  were  satisfied  with  his  prices.  I  felt 
somewhat  sorry  for  having  hurt  the  poor  man's  feelings. 
Having  concluded  his  sales,  he  returned  to  me,  sajing, 
"  I  am  very  much  in  want  of  money,  and  must  take  the 
one  pound  for  the  ring."  I  knew  now  that  even  at  my 
own  offer  I  was  paying  too  much.  Having  made  it, 
would  have  given  it,  but  not  having  so  much  money  by 
me,  I  told  the  man  he  must  wait  until  the  Purser  came  on 
board,  or  return  to  the  shij)  in  an  hour  or  two.  This  did 
not  suit  him,  and  he  urged  me  to  say  what  I  would  give 
on  the  spot.  "All  that  I  have  in  my  purse,"  as  I  laid  it 
on  the  table.  He  eyed  it  keenly  for  a  moment,  pushed 
the  ring  toward  me,  and  emptied  the  purse.     It  contained 


CEYLON.  109 

one  dollar  and  seventy-fire  cents,  with  which  he  went  off 
satisfied,  having  made  a  dollar  and  a  half  by  the  sale  of 
his  sixty  dollar  ring,  \yhat  precioias  stones  passengers 
must  buy  at  Galle !  There  ai'e,  however,  beautiful  gems 
to  be  had  there  by  the  exercise  of  care  and  skill. 

We  are  talking  about  some  of  the  people  and  usages  of 
Galle  without  getting  into  the  j^lace.  Where  is  it  ?  Most 
that  we  see  are  tall  cocoa-nut  groves,  here  and  there  and 
everywhere  waving  their  graceful  branches  in  the  breeze, 
and  promising  to  sea-parched  throats  the  sweet  refresh- 
ment of  the  sparkling  water  of  the  young  fruit — a  promise 
which  is  fully  kept.  There  stands  the  tall  light-house, 
from  amid  the  trees  rise  the  roof  and  gable  of  a  church, 
and  surrounding  all  are  the  walls  of  a  fortress.  Galle  is 
a  foit.  Behind  those  walls  and  green  ramparts,  hidden 
beneath  those  trees,  are  the  houses,  churches,  shops, 
hotels,  and  clean,  quiet  streets  of  a  population  of  three 
thousand  Pox'tuguese,  Dutch,  English,  Cingalese,  and  a 
mixture  of  all — Catholic,  Protestant,  Moliammedan,  and 
Boodhists  ;  and  the  only  entrance  to  them  is  beneath  a 
stone  arch  in  the  wall  at  the  sea-side,  through  which  are 
constantly  passing,  foot-passengers  and  merchandise,  car- 
riages, wagons,  and  queer  little  bull-carts — small  carts 
drawn  by  small  bulls  or  oxen,  and  trotting  rapidly  with 
one  inside  passenger.  The  highest  elevation  of  this  fort- 
town  is  occupied  by  the  old  Dutch  church,  with  tlie 
exception  of  a  small  Wesleyan  chapel,  the  only  church  in 
the  place  ;  and  it  jjrescnts  an  illustration  of  that  Christian 
fellowship  which  should  everywhere  characterize  Chris- 
tian denominations.  From  early  morn  until  night,  it  is, 
on  the  Sabbath,  occupied  for  religious  worship,  and  by 
three  different  denominations — two  forms  of  Dutch  Pres- 
byterian, and  an  ICpiscopal  congregation. 

The  congregations  were  of  various  degrees  of  color, 
from  black,  through  shades  of  rod  and  yellow,  to  white, 


110  THK     VOYAGE     OUT. 

and  all  dressed  with  great  neatness,  mostly  in  European 
style,  but  some  in  the  native  costume  of  the  "  comeboy^," 
surmounted  by  light  loose  jackets.  The  spectacle  to  us 
spectators  was  strange — and  a  pleasant  one — to  see  Hin 
doos,  in  Hindoo  costume,  coming  devoutly,  book  in  hand, 
to  a  Christian  church,  and  kneeling  reverently  a  few  mo- 
ments before  taking  their  seats. 

Most  of  the  congregation  was  made  up  of  half-caste 
descendants  of  the  Dutch  and  Portuguese.  Many  of  the 
Portuguese  residents  are  either  Presbyterian  or  Meth- 
odist ;  some  of  the  church  members  are  Cingalese.  The 
Bible  is  freely  distributed  in  the  Cingalese  language, 
which  is  that  of  the  south  of  Ceylon ;  and  also  in  the 
Tamil,  which  is  that  of  the  north  of  Ceylon,  and  the 
neighboring  part  of  Hindostan. 

Among  the  necessary  excursions  of  visitors  to  Galle, 
is  a  ride  to  the  cinnamon  gardens,  and  to  the  Boodhist 
temples ;  and  to  those  points  of  interest  we  of  course 
went  in  a  palanquin — a  carriage  cross  between  a  "  Black 
Maria"  and  a  hearse,  with  four  seats,  roofed  over  and 
shut  in,  drawn  by  a  miserable  poor  little  horse,  and  con- 
ducted by  a  turbaned  native,  who,  with  well-timed  con- 
sideration, gets  the  concern  under  full  headway,  and  runs 
along  for  some  distance  by  the  horse's  side,  before  mount- 
ing the  box.  During  our  drive,  we  met  one  of  the  car- 
riages of  the  aristocratic  residents,  and  the  coachmen 
were  picturesquely  clad  in  white  dresses,  with  turbans  of 
intertwined  crimson  and  white. 

The  cinnamon  gardens  on  the  banks  of  the  Gindurah, 
are  about  four  or  five  miles  from  the  fort — a  pleasant 
drive,  passing  out  into  the  country  beneath  the  shade  of 
thick  groves  of  cocoa-nut  trees.  The  cinnamon  planta- 
tion is  a  mere  thicket  of  bushy  shrubs,  although  if  per- 
mitted to  grow  it  would  be  a  tree  twenty  feet  high. 
Their  branches  are  cut  off  close  to  the  ground,  and  the 


CEYLON.  Ill 

growth  is  so  rapid  that  they  are  replaced  in  a  season. 
On  our  way  to  the  cinnamon  garden,  we  had  stoj^ped  at 
a  Boodhist  temple,  perched  on  an  elevation  a  little  distance 
from  the  road-side.  The  temple  consisted  of  an  interior 
chamber,  with  an  outer  hall,  or  passage,  going  all  around 
it.  In  this  interior  chamber  were  great  carved  images  of 
Boodha,  one  sitting  and  the  other  lying  in  front  of  the  for- 
mer. These  images  are  about  ten  feet  long.  On  each 
side  of  the  same  chamber  are  painted  images  of  Seva  and 
Vishnu,  the  saving  and  the  destroying  deities.  The  out- 
side passages,  from  roof  to  ceiling,  were  painted  with  alle- 
gorical or  historical  designs.  Some  of  them  seemed  to 
have  an  elevated  and  spiritual  significance,  and  there  was 
enough  besides  the  Trinity  to  show  the  corrupted  rela- 
tionship of  Boodhism  to  a  lost  but  pure  revelation.  The 
predominant  color  in  every  thing — paintings  and  idols — 
was  a  bright  golden  yellow.  The  crowd  of  Indians  who 
followed  us  into  the  temple,  and  who,  from  their  residence 
about  it,  I  presume  were  Boodhists,  seemed  to  have  no  ven- 
eration for  it  as  a  sacred  edifice,  but  i-ather  gave  their  own 
admiration  to,  and  expected  ours  for  it,  as  a  woi'k  of  art. 
Immediately  to  the  right,  outside  of  the  temple,  was  a 
dirty-looking  shed,  under  Avhich  were  two  priests,  wear- 
ing soiled  mantles,  of  the  sacred  yellow  color,  hanging- 
over  their  otherwise  naked,  and  by  no  means  cleanly- 
looking  slioulders.  One  of  them  was,  in  a  rapid,  monoto- 
nous tone,  reading  from  a.  bundle  of  narrow  strips  of 
bark,  or  rather  the  tough  leaves  of  the  talipot  (a  palm) 
tree,  closely  written.  The  other  followed  the  reader, 
silently  looldng  on  a  similar  bundle  of  bark  strips.  It 
appeared  to  be  proof-reading,  as  the  silent  man  occasion- 
ally corrected  the  reader.  They  did  not  interrupt  their 
work  to  look  at  us,  and  the  only  break  in  the  rapid 
utterance,  was  the  spitting  of  the  blood-colored  saliva, 
caused  by  the  betel-nut,  into  a  brass  spittoon,  as  filthy  as 
the  whole  party  and  its  surroundings. 


112  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

As  we  drove  along  the  road  in  the  neigliborhood  of  this 
temple,  and  of  the  cinnamon  garden,  our  palanquin  was 
surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  children  and  men,  who  kept 
pace  with  us  by  a  steady  trot,  begging — offering  canes 
of  cinnamon-wood,  the  ever-present  boxes  of  jewelry,  and, 
in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  Temple,  carved 
heads  of  the  Boodhist  Trinity.  One  lad,  of  about  sixteen, 
Avith  no  clothing  but  the  fold  of  muslin  tied  around  his 
waist,  was  very  persevering  in  showing  a  box  of  glitter- 
ing jewelry  at  the  palanquin  window.  I  said  to  him,  "  Go 
away — I  do  n't  want  any  thing — I  am  too  poor — have  no 
money  to  spare."  He,  with  a  laugh,  promptly  replied,  in 
good  English,  "  Oh  no,  sir,  you  are  rich — you  are  as  rich 
as  CrcEsus."  The  classical  allusion,  and  the  speaker,  and 
the  place,  all  taken  together,  were  rather  interesting. 

There  were  other  temj^les  in  the  neighborhood.  One 
of  them,  called  "  Minnangodde  Parama  Muda  Vihare," 
instead  of  being  under  the  direction  of  the  chief  Boodhist 
l^riest  of  Ceylon,  is  of  the  Siamese  sect,  the  j^riest  being 
ordained  by  the  high  priest  of  Siam.  This  functionary, 
and  also  the  King  of  Siam  and  his  brother,  have  sent 
some  valuable  presents  to  this  temple,  among  them  books 
in  the  Burmese  characters,  splendidly  gilded  and  orna- 
mented, and  supposed  to  be  Avorth  OA'er  one  thousand 
dollars ;  a  betel-box,  Avi-apped  in  cloth  of  gold  ;  silk  robes, 
richly  embroidered  with  the  same  metal  ;  paintings  on 
cloth  of  the  temple  of  Rangoon  ;  and  the  foot  of  Boodha,  as 
carved  in  a  rock  in  the  Nerbudda  river.  One  of  the  small 
statues  of  this  temple  is  said  to  be  two  thousand  years  old. 

Among  the  points  of  beauty  and  interest  in  the  vicinity 
of  Galle  generally  visited  by  strangers,  is  an  eminence 
known  as  "  Garstin's  Hill,"  being  the  property  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Garstin,  military  chaplain,  and  the  site  of  his 
bungaloAV,  or  country  cottage.  It  ascends,  covered  Avith 
a  thick  tropical  growth,  amid  which  chatter  hundreds  of 


CEYLON.  113 

monkeys,  rather  abruptly  from  the  plain,  and  when  the 
summit  is  reached,  from  tlie  piazzas  surrounding  the  bun- 
galow, the  eye  sweeps  over  an  extent  of  rich  scenery — 
plain,  river,  ocean,  village,  hills — and  away  to  the  interior 
mountains  of  Ceylon,  and  can  distinguish  the  peculiar  and 
interesting  point  called  Adam's  Peak,  or  Mallua  Sri  Pade, 
the  Hill  of  the  Sacred  Foot.  From  this  peak,  according  to 
the  Boodhist  tradition,  Boodha  made  a  step  into  Siam, 
leaving  the  foot-mark  of  his  last  step  from  Ceylon  im- 
pressed upon  the  rocky  summit  of  this  elevation,  seven 
thousand  four  hundred  and  twenty  feet  above  the  sea. 
The  Mussulmans  change  the  foot-mark  from  Boodha  to 
Adam,  and  both  Mussulmans  and  Boodhists  make  it  holy 
ground,  and  a  point  of  meritorious  pilgrimage.  The 
Boodhists  have  the  nine  points  of  the  law  advantage  of 
possession,  and  from  their  pilgrims  quite  a  revenue  is  col- 
lected for  the  treasury  of  the  high  priest  at  Kandy.  The 
approach  to  this  sacred  pinnacle  is  very  difficult  and  labo- 
rious, as  is  also  its  ascent.  Dr.  Garstin  had  accomplished 
the  feat,  and  told  me  the  foot-mark  was  a  mere  weather- 
worn depression  in  the  rock,  assisted,  by  chiseling  and 
additions  of  mortar,  into  the  form  of  a  foot. 

The  indolent  effeminacy  of  East  Indian  life  makes  itself 
apparent  at  Galle.  Every  house  seems  to  be  crowded 
with  a  multiplicity  of  servants,  all  of  whom  do  not  do 
more  than  one  good  stout  house-servant  in  the  United 
States.  There  is  a  servant  for  almost  every  individual  at 
table,  besides  one  to  stand  pulling  the  punka,  or  great 
fan,  suspended  in  the  middle  of  the  apartment.  Two  or 
three  seem  to  be  necessary  to  take  care  of  one  chamber, 
each  having  his  separate  function.  This  all  looks  very 
comfortable,  and  promises  an  easy  kind  of  a  life.  It  is 
such  for  a  guest,  but  when  the  burden  and  charge  upon  the 
lady  of  the  house  arc  considered — the  neglect  of  duty,  tho 
caprice  ofchanging  places,  thejealousy  and  bickering  among 


114  THE     VOYAGE      OUT. 

each  other — it  Ijccoraes  a  servile  tyranny,  to  whicli  the  free 
expectoration  of  betel,  in  all  directions,  is  no  ornament. 

The  demoralizing  influence  npon  the  young  is  more 
than  that  attributed  to  slavery  in  our  southern  States. 
No  matter  what  pains  European  parents  may  take  to  pre- 
vent tlieir  children  becoming  indolent  and  dependent,  the 
result  seems  inevitable  ;  and  an  energetic  lady,  who  had 
exercised  a  most  vigilant  precaution,  told  me  that  her 
children  thought  it  the  greatest  hardship  to  have  to  take 
off  their  own  shoes  and  stockings.  There  is  much  more 
real  comfort  in  our  Kew  England  and  western  homes, 
where  one  servant  or  more  is  kept,  and  where  each  indi- 
vidual develops  a  self-dependent  and  vigorous  character 
by  the  necessity  of  personal  exertion,  than  in  all  this 
abundance  of  oriental  servility. 

From  the  tyranny  of  this  crowd  of  Cingalese  domestics 
there  is  no  refuge,  as  the  number  is  a  law  of  fashion  and 
a  measure  of  respectability.  It  requires,  however,  some 
habituation  to  the  customs  of  the  country  j^assively  to 
submit  to  it. 

Upon  taking  my  seat  in  a  friend's  office,  to  write  a  let- 
ter, I  noticed  that  a  fellow  was  at  once  set  to  fanning  me 
with  the  punka.  A  whole  man,  physical,  moral  and  in- 
tellectual, working  with  all  his  energy  for  such  a  result, 
made  me  nervous,  and  I  could  not  write  until  I  sent  the 
fellow  away.  There  was  a  want  of  proportion  between 
the  power  and  the  end. 

During  one  of  my  visits.to  Ceylon,  being  detained  there 
several  weeks,  an  agreeable  poetical  friend,  Dr.  James 
Cruice,  of  the  British  army,  the  author  of  Psyche  and 
other  poems,  and  I,  determined  to  fly  from  the  glittering 
tempters,  the  jewel  merchants  of  Galle — from  the  gastro- 
nomic delights  of  its  hotels,  and  to  take  refuge  in  a  rural 
bungalow,  five  miles  from  the  fort,  amid  the  natural  beau- 
ties of  the  picturesque  vale  of  Walkwelle.     Such  an  ere- 


CEYLON.  115 

metical  flight  from  hot,  glowing  streets — from  the  re- 
sources of  the  billiard  room,  and  the  loafing  lounges  of 
the  hotel  verandahs — from  society — was  easily  enough  ac- 
counted for  by  our  friends,  as  regarded  Dr.  Cruice,  from 
the  fact  of  his  being  a  poet,  but  as  for  myself,  no  satisfac- 
tory reason  for  the  move,  short  of  insanity,  could  be  imag- 
ined. Nor  was  I  personally  dependant  upon  the  mercies  of 
the  hotels,  Commodore  Armstrong  and  myself  being  made 
at  home  by  the  attentive  hospitality  of  Mr.  John  Black, 
United  States  Consul,  to  whom  the  petty  income  of  his 
office  can  be  no  compensation  for  the  hospitalities  of 
himself  and  family,  extended  to  such  of  our  countrymen 
as  the  passing  steamers  bi-ing  to  Galle.  One  enterprising 
gentleman  formed  the  bold  theory  that  I  might  be  a  jjoet 
in  disguise.  I  gave  no  reasons  then  and  there.  I  will  now 
give  them  in  an  appeal  to  a  public  jury  "  de  lunatico  in- 
quirendo." 

The  bungalow  of  Walkwelle  stood  upon  the  point  of  a 
lofty  promontory,  which  in  one  direction  looked  over 
palm-covered  hills  and  valleys,  out  upon  the  blue  sea  and 
the  sails  upon  its  surface,  from  which  the  breezes  came 
freshly,  rustling  among  our  cocoa-nut  and  palm  groves. 
We  looked  down  from  each  side  upon  grove-covered  val- 
leys, which  meeting  at  the  foot  of  our  promontory,  wound 
away  as  one  expanse,  dotted  with  cattle  and  island  groves, 
between  ranges  of  hills  far  as  the  eye  could  see  ;  and  over 
these  boundary  hills,  dim  and  misty,  were  seen  the  distant 
mountains  of  Ceylon,  suggestive  of  a  wonderful  interior. 
Down  from  those  far  hills,  and  away  through  our  valley, 
on  the  right  hand,  in  serpentine  turns,  flowed  the  Gindurah, 
now  resting  in  the  dark  shadows  of  the  overhanging  forest, 
then  gleaming  in  the  open  sunlight,  as  it  sought  its  west- 
ward way  to  the  sea.  At  sunset  as  the  seaward  sky  was 
crimson,  the  river  was  a  stream  of  bright  gold.  It  was  a 
place  and  a  time  to  realize  the  opening  of  my  friend's  Psyche. 


1  16  Tll  K     V  ()  V  A  (,;  K     OUT. 

"  It  was  tlio  hour  when,  ia  his  flight, 

Tho  sun  along  tho  western  sky 
Loavcth  a  track  of  golden  light 

To  trace  his  radiant  chariot  by ; 
Tho  hour  when  from  the  lofty  pine 
The  sliadows  fall  in  lengthened  hne, 
And  song  birds  chant  their  vesper  hymn — 
The  dying  day's  sweet  requiem ; 
"When  feebly  falls  tho  slanting  ray 
On  rivulets  winding  their  weary  way, 
By  shallow  ford  and  tangled  brake, 
To  rest  that  night  in  tranquil  lake  ; 
And  flowers  are  closing  their  drooping  eyes, 

And  softly  the  gales 
Are  breathing  around  their  amorous  sighs." 

The  birds  loved  this  scenery  and  lonely  spot  (we  were 
the  only  inhabitants)  as  well  as  we,  and  sang  among  our 
trees  their  mornmg  welcome  ;  while  certain  grave  and 
bearded  old  monkeys  seemed  to  hold  an  evening  mass  meet- 
ing upon  our  presence,  which,  from  the  earnestness  and 
confusion  of  the  debate,  may  have  originated  some  new 
political  party  in  the  state — from  the  chattering  they  cer- 
tainly were  not  all  of  the  same  opinion.  And  the  night 
cries  of  the  jackal  announced  a  wide-awake  party  in  the 
forest. 

Such  was  our  Cingalese  retreat,  in  which,  after  a  few 
days,  I  was,  with  the  exception  of  the  servants,  left  the 
solitary  inhabitant,  and  thenceforth  occupied  myself  in 
making  the  acquaintance  of  the  various  inhabitants  around 
my  dwelling.  The  triangular  point  of  the  hill  before  my 
door,  looking  up  the  receding  valley,  had  been  at  one  time 
cleared  and  leveled  a  little,  forming  a  small  plain.  Sev- 
eral large  trees  were,  however,  left  standing,  a  row  of 
cocoa-nuts  fringed  the  edges  near  the  house,  and  wild 
vines  those  at  the  point.  Below  these  hill  margins,  the 
sides  were  a  mass  of  wild  jungle,  and,  for  purposes  of 


CEYLON.  Ill 

business  or  pleasure,  the  inhabitants  of  the  jungle  made 
frequent  visits  to  my  clearins:,  and  gave  me  a  good  op- 
portunity, as  I  sat  in  the  verandah,  of  observing  them  with 
my  opera  glass ;  and  I  found  this  moral  in  my  study,  that 
throughout  all  animal  existence,  high  and  low,  that  mani- 
festation of  selfishness  which  displays  itself  in  self-impor- 
tance, is  the  one  uniform  character.  This,  howerer,  may 
be  truly  a  virtue — the  consciousness  of  individual  humil- 
ity, in  aspiration  after  a  higher  state  of  existence.  As  I 
half  dreamed  over  the  spectacle  before  me,  I  sometimes  fan- 
cied I  saw  the  various  phases  of  human  society,  including 
those  of  our  twenty-by-ten  feet  world,  the  quarter  deck 
of  a  man-of-war. 

I  was  a  spectator  and  a  listener  at  a  natural  and  varied 
opera,  more  harmonious  to  my  untutored  ear  than  the 
clanging  of  instruments  in  crowded  halls,  beneath  the 
glare  of  gas-light.  The  performance  opened  merrily  at 
daylight,  and  continued  with  varying  notes  through  the 
day. 

The  most  numerous,  restless,  and  dissipated  members  of 
this  mixed  society,  were  the  brown-coated,  striped  chip- 
munks, who  arrogated  to  themselves  the  right  to  discard 
all  duties,  and  to  sport  now  on  the  ground  and  then  amid 
the  leaves  and  branches  of  the  trees.  With  no  steadiness 
of  pursuit,  they  sought  only  the  excitement  of  the  moment 
among  high  and  low. 

There  were  five  or  six  families  of  lizards,  some  in 
grave  and  some  in  gay  costume,  with  pufied-out  throats, 
hurrying  to  and  fro  as  if  bearing  messages  of  importance 
to  the  state — consequential  as  Mediterranean  men-of-war, 
in  inverse  proportion  to  their  usefulness.  Occasionally 
two  of  these  busy  cruisers  would  stop  a  moment,  exchange 
quiet  signals,  and  then  each  hurry  on  his  way. 

Ileavy-bodied,  long-tailed  iguanas,  some  of  them  three 
feet  long,  Avouid  waddle  up  into  view,  and  after  looking 


118  T  II  K     V  O  Y  A  G  K     O  U  X  . 

around  the  scene  for  a  comfortable  place,  recline  half  on" 
one  side  Avhile  they  lazily  raked  the  ground  with  one 
fore  paw  and  nibbled  at  the  exposed  roots.  Fat  vulgarians 
lying  on  the  velvet  benches  and  nibbling  ground  nuts. 
Industrious  gatherers  of  the  surrounding  sweets,  but  mak- 
ing their  industry  heard  in  the  world,  buzzing  a  contri- 
bution to  the  general  harmony,  were  tiny,  sober-clad, 
long-billed  humming-birds. 

Among  my  most  frequent  visitors,  on  the  ground  and 
in  the  trees,  were  pert,  dandy,  dapper  little  fellows,  with 
black,  velvety  heads,  black  satin  coat  and  vest,  white 
satin  breeches,  coat  tail  lined  with  the  same,  and  a  narrow 
slashing  of  white  along  the  sleeves,  or  wings.  They 
hopped  about,  and  sometimes,  most  impudently,  up  into 
the  verandah,  with  their  white-lined  tails  stuck  perpen- 
dicularly up  into  the  air,  with  a  defiant  "  none  like  me" 
kind  of  air ;  but  notwithstanding  all  their  conceit  and 
pretensions,  they  were  very  nervous  and  timid,  so  that  I 
was  compelled  to  be  motionless  or  put  them  in  a  panic. 
While  thus  still  and  quiet  myself,  looking  and  listening, 
an  enthusiastic  chap,  up  in  the  tree-top  galleries,  startles 
me  by  calling  out  in  good  EngUsh,  fast  and  loud,  just  what 
I  thought,  "  Pretty,  pretty,  pretty." 

But  thorns  among  roses — bitters  with  sweets — and 
dangers  amid  the  dehghts  of  Walkwelle.  "Whilst  bath- 
ing in  the  Gindurah  one  is  vividly  conscious  of  the  vicin- 
ity of  crocodiles,  and  when  coming  from  this  refreshment 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  memorable  22d  of  Febru- 
ary, I  was  in  time  to  assist,  at  my  own  door,  in  the  death 
of  a  fatal  cobra ;  that  is,  I  looked  on,  while  the  native 
servants  mashed  his  head,  extracted  with  great  care  four 
sharp-jiointed  fangs,  and  then  held  his  contorting  body  in 
the  flames. 

To  vary  my  residence  at  Walkwelle,  I  extemporized  a 
vagabonding  cruise  of  a  day  up  the  Gindurah.     My  boat 


CEYLON.  119 

was  got  up  for  the  occasion.  Two  old  aucl  leaky  cauoes, 
one  double  the  size  of  the  other  and  doixbly  as  rotten,  with 
a  bridge  uniting  them,  upon  which  was  laid,  as  a  floor,  a 
broad  and  golden  yellow  plank  of  the  jack-fruit  tree,  and 
some  twigs  bowed  over  the  machine,  supjDorting  a  roof  of 
dried  palm  leaves,  completed  our  establishment.  A  cush- 
ion, carried  with  us  from  the  bungalow,  and  extended  on 
the  jack-fruit  plank,  gave  me  a  reasonably  comfortable 
resting-place  Three  naked  Cingalese  were  my  crew.  The 
point  of  the  river  from  which  we  took  our  departure  was 
a  ferry,  and  the  country  people  were  crossing  it,  on  the 
way  to  the  fort  with  their  products.  These  were  done  up 
in  baskets  made  of  fresh  taro  or  banana  leaves,  and  sus- 
pended in  green  ribbons  of  some  strong  and  fibrous  leaf 
or  grass,  all  having  an  inviting,  fresh  and  tasteful  appear- 
ance.- Some  carried  suspended  in  these  vegetable  ribbons 
earthen  bowls  covered  with  green  leaves,  fixed  by  neat 
and  regular  rolls  turned  around  the  edges.  Curiosity  led 
me  to  look  into  these  bowls,  when  I  was  pleased  to  see 
them  filled  with  smooth  and  snow-white  curdled  milk, 
nothing  less  than  the  old-fashioned  bonney-clabber,  so 
bountifully  associated  with  youthful  years,  country  life  and 
puzzling  orthography  in  my  childhood's  early  Maryland 
home.  Thenceforth  I  had  a  bowl  of  this  discovery  and  a 
bottle  of  fresh  milk  brought  daily  to  my  hermitage,  and 
if  its  intrinsic  merits,  as  a  cool  and  refreshing  food,  had 
not  been  sufiicient  reason,  I  should  have  been  tempted  to 
do  so  by  the  renewed  youth  of  eai-ly  associations.  A  bit 
of  brown  fresh  johnny  cake  beside  the  earthen  bowl, 
would  have  absorbed  all  the  intervening  years  and  made 
the  illusion  complete.  It  is,  though,  a  curious  fact,  that 
amid  the  spice  groves  of  Ceylon,  and  with  a  nutmeg  plan- 
tation within  a  short  walk,  I  could  not  get  a  fragment  of 
the  aromatic  nut  to  add  its  flavor  to  tlie  cream's  flakes, 
although  it  Avas  always  present  in  the  North  American 


120  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

fnrm-honsp.  The  wooden  nutmeg,  illustrative  of  the  in- 
genious knavery  of  our  eastern  brethren,  loses  the  origi- 
nality of  the  invention,  either  as  a  fact  or  a  caricature, 
by  the  natural  products  of  Ceylon.  The  wild  nutmeg  of 
Ceylon  resembles,  in  all  external  characteristics,  the  true 
spice,  but  the  nut  upon  being  cut  is  so  completely  insipid 
and  wooden,  that  it  is  difficult  to  believe  it  any  thing  else 
than  an  ingenious  artificial  imitation.  The  probability  is, 
that  a  fraudulent  or  accidental  exportation  of  the  wild 
nutmeg  to  Boston  or  to  Salem,  gave  rise  to  this  persist- 
ent sectional  scandal. 

Cingalese  all  chew  betel ;  their  mouths  are  blood-red 
with  it ;  streets  and  houses  are  spotted  with  the  saliva ; 
the  shops  keep  it  for  sale  in  tempting  combination  with 
the  green  pepper  leaves,  and  lime.  Galle  exports  cocoa- 
nut  oil,  ebony,  spices,  and  the  betel  nut,  the  fourth  in 
value  being  this  nut. 

From  Point  de  Galle  our  destination  was  to  the  paradise 
of  the  East,  to  Pulo  Pinang,  in  the  Straits  of  Malacca. 
On  the  evening  of  March  the  18th  we  made  the  south 
end  of  Nicobar,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  20th  we 
were  passing  Pulo  Rondo,  and  the  several  peculiar  look- 
ing rocky  eminences  or  islets  which  he  near  it,  and  form 
a  good  land-mark  for  the  Straits  of  Malacca.  Pulo  Wey, 
a  very  large  island  off  the  north  of  Sumatra.  The  waters 
are  now  of  a  dark  green  color,  and  we  are  running 
through  their  surface,  unbroken  by  a  wave,  and,  save  the 
rippling  of  a  gentle  breeze,  as  smooth  as  a  floor. 

On  the  morning  of  the  21st  we  had  the  rocky  islet 
of  Pera  close  aboard.  The  surface  of  the  waters  is  cov- 
ered with  drift-wood,  upon  which  are  floating,  in  quiet 
dignity,  many  large  birds.  Myriads  of  a  dull  yellow 
snake — from  three  or  four  inches  to  a  foot  in  length — 
are  rapidly  gliding  over  the  surface  of  the  w^ater.  I 
endeavored  to  have  one  taken,  but,  fortunately,  without 


PINANG.  121 

success ;  as  1  subsequently  learned  from  Dr.  Bradley, 
United  States  Consul  at  Singapore,  that  these  snakes  had 
been  ascertained  to  be  deadly  in  their  bite.  That  same 
day,  as  night  closed  in,  we  made  the  dark  mountain 
island  of  Pulo  Pinang,  with  heavy  clouds  resting  on  its 
summit,  and  the  lights  of  habitations  twinkling  along  its 
base.  We  had  looked  forward  with  the  most  pleasant 
anticii^ations  to  our  arrival  at  this  place,  on  account  of 
the  glowing  descriptions  which  travelers  have  given  of  it ; 
and  in  addition,  we  had  the  special  and  great  interest  in 
its  being  the  point  at  wliich  we  were  to  receive  our  first 
letters  from  home.  But  as  we  could  not  run  in  to-night, 
we  came  to  anchor,  and  postponed  our  anticipations  until 
to-morrow. 

We  had  been  lying  quietly  at  our  anchorage  for  about 
an  hour,  when  suddenly  there  glided  up  from  the  sur- 
rounding darkness  a  beautiful  sharp  and  graceful  boat, 
in  which  were,  besides  the  dark-skinned  native  rowers, 
four  or  five  Mohammedans,  in  full  white  turbans,  and 
loose  white  robes.  This  was  the  boat  of  an  old  bearded 
Mussulman  pilot,  accompanied  by  his  friends,  seeking  the 
business  of  the  ship. 

There  is  one  very  annoying  peculiarity  of  the  East,  and 
it  is,  that  a  man  loses  all  right  to  proprietorship  in  himselt 
and  his  own  services.  An  exaggeration  of  luxury,  by 
which  an  individual  has  no  right  to  exert  himself  in  his 
own  j)ersonal  matters — his  free  agency  has  gone.  lie  is 
the  slave  of  his  servants — the  property  of  the  dark-skinned 
men  who  put  their  hands  on  their  foreheads,  bow  to  the 
ground,  and  kiss  the  dust  of  your  feet.  One  of  these 
ioint-proprietors  of  your  individuality  is  the  "  dubosch," 
and  one  of  the  turbaned  companions  of  the  pilot  aspired 
to  be  the  "  dubosch"  of  our  ship  ;  that  is,  to  attend  to  all 
your  shopping,  marketing,  and  purchases  in  general. 
Our  caterer  explained  that  we  had  no  occasion  for  his 
6 


122  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

agency — that  wc  bad  a  good  steward,  avIio  -w  ould  do  our 
uiarketuig,  etc.  The  duhosch  ex^ilained  that  such  was 
not  the  custom ;  the  steward  would  not  be  able  to  get 
many  articles,  would  get  none  so  good  as  he  would,  and 
would  pay  more  for  them.  All  of  which  was  true  ;  and 
we  necessarily  fell  into  the  hands  of  our  dubosch,  the 
willixig  and  unresisting  victims  of  his  knavery,  but  still 
cheated  to  our  profit. 

"  Where  are  you  going  ?"  said  my  host  upon  one  oc- 
casion. "To  the  shops  to  get  so  and  so."  "  Not  at  all," 
said  my  host  in  surprise  ;  "  you  are  not  going  to  get  it. 
Let  the  butler  or  your  dubosch  attend  to  that  for  you."  I 
really  neither  needed  nor  wanted  the  article ;  but  I  have  a 
woman's  fondness  ifor  shopping  in  store  or  bazaar,  for  now 
all  market  places  are  called  bazaars.  I  shop  to  see  the 
people  and  things,  the  manners  and  customs  ;  and  I  buy 
as  a  pleasant  fee  for  the  j^leasure  aiforded  me.  These 
enjoyments  taken  from  me,  I  had  no  object  in  shopping, 
and  therefore  sank  back  mto  the  deep  cane-seat  chair 
in  which  I  had  been  semi-reclining;  replaced  my  legs 
upon  its  broad  flat  arms,  lengthened  out  two  feet  for  the 
purpose  of  supjjortuig  the  whole  limb  from  knee  to  heel, 
and  resigned  myself  in  despair  to  the  servitude  of  luxury, 
and  the  torments  of  inaction. 

On  the  following  morning  we  again  got  under  way, 
and  ran  into  an  anchorage  oS  the  town. 


XII. 

P  I  N  A  N  G, 

THE      GEM     OF     THE     INDIES. 

Petakg,  or  Pulo  Pinang,  as  it  is  variously  written,  has 
been  called  the  "  Gem  of  the  Indies."  A  recent  French 
traveler  thus  rhapsodises  respecting  this  spot :  "  '  To  see 


PINANG.  123 

Naples,  and  then  to  die,'  say  the  Italians,  in  their  enthusi- 
asm for  that  city,  bathed  by  a  capricious  sea,  whose  waves 
are  tossed  by  the  cold  winds  of  the  north.  What,  then, 
would  this  i^oetical  jieople  say,  if  they  knew  Pulo  Pinang, 
which,  placed  in  the  middle  of  Malaysia,  is  the  Paradise  of 
this  Eden  of  the  universe.  It  is  upon  this  corner  of  the 
earth  that  the  Deity  has  reahzed  the  vision  of  a  perpetual 
spring."  Such  extravagant  eulogy  is  unjust  to  persons 
or  to  places,  and  prepares  one  for  disappointment.  The 
whole  eflect  of  an  intimate  acquaintanceship,  is  vainly 
looked  for  in  a  first  impression,  and  although  Pinang  did 
not  burst  uj^on  us  as  a  dream  of  paradise,  we  shall  find 
increasing  charms  in  our  continued  acquaintance. 

Pulo  being  the  general  term  for  island,  Pinang  is  the 
Malayan  name  of  the  betel  or  areca-nut,  and  is  so  called 
either  from  the  immense  number  of  the  beautiful  areca 
palm  found  on  the  island,  or,  as  some  say,  from  its  resem- 
blance, when  seen  from  the  sea,  to  the  betel-nut  in  shape. 
It  Ues  within  two  miles  of  the  Malayan  i^eninsula,  and  sepa- 
rated from  the  continental  island  of  Sumatra  by  the  Straits 
of  Malacca.  It  is  a  forest-covered  mountain,  green  and 
luxuriant,  where  its  summit,  two  thousand  three  hun- 
dred feet  high,  catches  the  flying  vapor,  and  sends  it 
tumbling  down  ravine  and  rivulet,  to  water  a  plain  of 
about  four  miles'  width,  which  laps  out  irregularly  from 
the  base  of  the  mountain  into  the  sea.  Upon  this  plain 
are  the  palm-groves  and  nutmeg-orchards,  and  the  resi- 
dences of  the  inhabitants.  A  few  bungalows,  or  one- 
storied  cottages,  are  perched  along  the  hill-sides,  and 
crown  their  very  summits. 

As  we  look  around  us  from  the  deck  of  our  ship,  now 
features  are  before  our  eyes  ;  here  and  there,  among  the 
shipping,  are  lying  Chinese  junks,  with  their  confused  pile 
of  red-painted  wood-woik,  and  great  goggle-eyes  painted 
on  their  bows.     Among  the  small  boats  pulUng  round  and 


124  TUK     VOYAGE     OUT. 

passing  our  ship,  are  two  kinds — one  long,  sharp,  canoe- 
built,  -with  four  or  five  half-naked,  dark-skinned  Klings 
sitting  down  and  rowing ;  but  everywhere  is  seen  a  curi- 
ous triangular  aflair,  with  eyes  i:)ainted  on  each  side  of  the 
sharp  bow.  These  are  the  Chinese  "  samjians,"  and  are 
pro])elled  by  grave-looking  Chinamen,  who,  with  blue 
cotton  trowsers,  no  upper  garment,  shaved  head,  and 
broad-brimmed,  conical  hat,  are  standing  up,  each  alone, 
in  his  own  boat,  swaying  himself  to  and  fro,  as  he  slowly, 
but  steadUy,  sculls  his  sampan.  It  is  India,  but  it  is  still 
England.  There,  on  shore,  floats  the  omnipresent  cross 
of  St.  George.  If  there  were  no  such  mark  of  nationality, 
we  might  guess  it  by  the  evidences  of  comfort  and  order 
which  meet  us  when  ^^'e  first  put  foot  on  shore  at  the  sub- 
stantial and  convenient  jetty.  We  are  m  the  midst  of  a 
picturesque  crowd,  and  pillared  over  our  heads,  protect- 
ing us  from  sun  or  rain,  is  an  approjiriate  roof,  so  that  we 
can  bare  our  heads  to  the  sea-breeze,  and  take  a  look  at 
the  people  around  —  Malays,  Hindoos,  Mohammedans, 
Chinamen,  EurojDeans;  a  mingling  of  bright  colors,  white 
and  crimson  predominating ;  Chinamen,  with  all  the  head 
shaved  but  the  crown,  and  the  hair  from  this  depending 
in  a  long  plait,  or  queue,  to  the  ground,  or  else  wrapped 
in  circles  around  the  head ;  Mussulmans,  with  the  entire 
head  shaved,  and  covered  with  close-fitting,  many-colored 
straw  or  rush-plaited  caps,  or  else  with  full  crimson  or 
white  turbans.  White  or  red  striped  petticoats  or  sarongs 
fell  from  the  waists  of  some,  and  a  few  wore  bi'ight-colored 
iackets,  but  many  encumbered  with  no  more  clothing  than 
w^ould  meet  the  demands  of  decency.  Here  and  there  a 
dark  native,  fully  clad  and  stiffly  buttoned  up,  represented 
the  existing  authority.     These  were  native  policemen. 

Ranged  along  on  one  side  of  the  mole,  were  several 
cunning,  sagacious-looking  little  ponies,  harnessed  to  the 
palki-garis,   or  palanquin-carriages  —  low,  oblong,   close 


PINANG.  125 

Tehicles,  with  a  back  and  front  seat,  each  attended  by  a 
native  oriental-looking  Syce,  light,  graceful  and  delicately- 
limbed.  Go  as  far  as  you  will,  as  fast  as  you  can,  through 
the  most  burning  sun,  whilst  you  are  fanning  yourself  in 
the  carriage,  the  Syce  runs  a-foot  at  his  pony's  head,  and 
from  morning  until  night,  at  a  dollar  a  day.  These  grace- 
ful grooms  salaamed  to  us,  and  solicited  us  to  employ 
then-  vehicles,  but  as  our  consul's  house  was  in  sight  only 
a  few  stejis  off,  we  declined  a  conveyance.  In  this  we 
showed  our  ignorance  of  customs.  Xo  one  walks  any 
distance.  After  having  visited  the  consul's  house,  I  step- 
ped over  to  his  office,  but  a  Uttle  distance  off,  and  when 
about  to  return,  a  gentleman  whom  I  met  there,  said, 
"  You  had  better  not  walk  ;  I  will  take  you  over  in  my 
gari."  I  began  to  think  that,  in  a  fit  of  mental  abstrac- 
tion, I  had  lost  the  idea  of  the  distance  ;  but  no  ;  we  got 
in,  closed  the  door,  whisked  around  the  corner  in  a  min- 
ute, opened  the  door  and  got  out  at  the  house.  "We  soon 
fell  into  the  custom  of  a  gari  and  Syce  for  any  distance, 
however  small. 

I  have  heard  of  a  gentleman  who  professed  very  little 
apiDrehension  of  the  punishments  of  a  future  world,  unless 
they  should  make  him  a  United  States  Consul,  and  al- 
though no  such  satiric  remark  could  ever  acidulate  the 
bland  speech  of  Mr.  Currier,  our  most  estimable  consul  at 
Pinang,  none  could  have  had  greater  reason  to  utter  the  re- 
proach. His  quiet  and  orderly  establishment,  fitted  with 
all  the  comforts  of  a  fastidious  single  blessedness,  was,  in 
all  its  large  extent,  freely  and  hospitably  given  to  our  ac- 
commodation during  the  ten  days  of  our  stay,  and  each 
day  he  seemed  happy  in  crowding  his  dinner  table  with 
his  countrymen  as  guests.  The  grave  old  black  Moham- 
medan butler,  and  the  long-tailed  Chinaman  who  had 
charge  of  the  menage^  seemed  in  no  way  startled  from 
their  propriety  by  this  sudden  invasion,  but,  catching  the 


12G  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

spirit  of  their  master,  made  each  one  at  home,  and  as  one 
of  the  family.  I  beUeve  that  the  Pinang  consulate  has 
no  salary,  so  that  the  cliief  merit  of  the  office  is  this  privi- 
lege of  kcfping  open  house  and  extending  a  courteous 
hospitality  to  his  countrymen,  with  the  honor  of  doing  all 
this  at  the  expense  of  the  incumbent.  The  foundation  of 
our  consular  system  may  be  traced  to  that  custom  of  the 
ancients  by  which  each  nation  sent  one  of  its  own  citizens 
to  reside  in  foreign  countries,  to  extend  t'Ee  rites  of  hos- 
pitality to  those  of  its  subjects  who  might  wander  thus 
far,  and  have  no  claim  for  entertainment.  Mr.  Currier 
seems  to  have  revived  the  classic  usage,  without  the 
national  cause  to  sustain  it.  But  there  seems  to  be  a  law 
of  compensation  in  aU  things,  and  the  man  wlio  has  not 
only  the  honors  of  an  unsalaried  consulate,  but  the  most 
pleasantly  situated  home,  the  most  delicious  curries,  and, 
better  than  all,  the  smile  of  sincere  welcome  which  springs 
from  a  kind  heart,  must  consent,  for  all  these  good  things 
and  qualities,  to  the  penalty  of  gi\'ing  a  temporary  home 
to  bis  less  fortunate  countiymen.  Of  course,  the  East 
Indies  is  the  only  j^lace  to  eat  cm-ry — and,  as  yet,  I  have 
seen  the  dish  nowhere  in  such  perfection  as  at  the  table 
of  our  consul.  Who  that  has  ever  had  the  turbaued 
servant  hand  him  the  j^iled-up  dish  of  snowy  rice,  with 
the  giant  silver  spoon  silently  indicating  the  volume  you 
were  expected  to  consume,  and  then  moistening  his  full 
plate  with  the  cream-colored  cocoa-uut  Malay  curry,  fol- 
lowing this  with  the  richer  and  more  pungent  curry,  al- 
most solidified  by  the  most  delicate  shrimp — who  that  has 
ever  eaten  this  combination  would  again  call  the  yellow- 
peppered  turmeric-dyed  dishes — curry?  It  was  really 
suii^rising  to  see  how  this  dish  adapted  itself  to  our  taste, 
and  some  of  my  friends  seemed  to  involve  m  doubt  the 
necessity  for  the  thing  containing  being  larger  than  the 
thing  contained. 


pi:n"an'g.  127 

An  evening  seat  on  the  paved  flat  roof  of  the  portico 
brings  before  us  the  advantages  of  this  delightful  resi- 
dence. We  are,  behind  our  wall,  and  au--perfuming  trees, 
sufficiently  removed  from  the  smooth  road  to  the  jetty, 
passing  in  front  of  the  house,  which  forms  the  morning  and 
evening  i^romenade  and  drive.  In  front,  on  the  other  side 
of  the  road,  spreads  the  green  lawn  of  the  parade  ground  ; 
this  is  bounded  by  the  waters  of  the  strait,  with  its  ship- 
ping, its  junks  and  moving  boats ;  two  miles  across  are 
the  low  lands  of  the  jirovince  of  Wellesley,  sweeping  away 
until  they  are  bounded  by  the  blue  mountains  of  the  do- 
minions of  Siam.  And  now  we  may  give  some  attention 
to  the  passers  by  on  the  road.  The  palki-garis  are  rol- 
ling by  with  the  turbaned  "  Syces"  running  rapidly  at  the 
ponies'  heads,  and  in  these  garis  are  various  occupants — 
European  sailors  and  residents.  Chinamen  sufficiently  well 
to  do  to  ride,  Armenian  and  Arabiafci  gentlemen,  occa- 
sionally a  European  lady.  The  variously  costumed  natives 
whom  we  met  at  the  landing  are  jiassing  to  and  fro, 
and,  in  addition,  a  Malay  "  ayah,"  or  nurse,  with  one  or 
two  white  children  ;  the  ayah  wears  the  sarong  or  petti- 
coat twisted  around  her  waist,  and,  in  addition,  a  short 
loose  badja  or  jacket  dropping  over  her  breasts.  Their 
beautiful  black  hair  is  handsomely  done  up  with  silver  or 
even  gold  oniaments.  Sauntering  down  the  road  in  a 
stately  manner,  come  two  of  the  dominant  race,  two  Eng- 
lishmen, ^vith  folds  of  white  musUn  rolled  around  their  hats, 
and  droj^ping  in  a  short  curtain  over' the  neck — a  compro- 
mise between  a  hat  and  a  tin-ban,  to  protect  the  head 
from  the  sun's  rays.  Across  the  parade  ground  is  march- 
ing a  specimen  of  the  physical  force  by  which  a  small 
collection  of  English  brains  rules  this  Indian  empire.  It 
is  a  detaclnncnt  of  Sepoys,  the  Madras  Native  Infantry, 
Hindoos  taken  out  of  petticoats  and  put  into  stiif  Eng- 
lish uniform  and  more  constraining  military  drill,  to  help 


128  T  II  E     VOYAGE     OUT. 

Englishmen  rule  their  country.  Here  comes  one  of  the 
benefits  of  tlmt  rule — our  ears  catch  a  tinkling,  clinking 
sound,  and  turning  our  eyes  in  its  direction  we  see  com- 
ing from  their  labor  upon  an  adjoining  public  building,  a 
gang  of  convicts,  mingled  Indians  and  Chinamen ;  slender 
wire  chains  pass  from  one  of  their  ankles  to  their  loins. 
They  are  in  charge  of  a  single  native  Peon.  These  are 
thieves,  rascals,  and  murderers,  punished  by  exile  from 
their  homes,  as  well  as  by  forced  useful  occupation.  The 
corresponding  gentry  of  this  place  are  sent  to  return  the 
visits  of  these  guests.  They  are  the  laborers  on  all  the  pub- 
He  works,  and  to  them  w^  e  owe  the  good  repair  of  the  ex- 
cellent roads.  Gradually  the  night  draws  on  ;  the  passers 
by  are  fewer  and  fewer,  until  the  road  is  quite  deserted, 
and  all  would  be  very  quiet  but  for  the  sound  of  tom- 
toms, drums,  gongs,  and  all  the  discordant  noises  which 
make  a  Chinaman's  harmony,  and  which  reach  us  obscure- 
ly from  the  more  dense  part  of  the  town.  Around  us, 
too,  we  have  a  noisy  animated  nature  of  night  biixils  and 
insects.  The  limpid  cocoa-nut  oil  lamps  are  lighted  in  the 
house;  the  Chinese  servant,  in  Chinese  costume, hands  us 
tea  in  Chinese  cups,  which  is  taking  the  beverage  with  all 
appropriate  concomitants. 

A  quiet  chat  in  lounging  chairs,  with  cigars  for  the 
smokers,  closed  our  first  day  in  Pinang ;  and  we  were 
shown  to  our  comfortable,  large  and  airy  rooms  in  the 
second  story,  with  open  movable  Venetian  blinds  next 
the  sea,  and  the  back  looking,  by  capacious  windows,  upon 
the  surrounding  enclosure,  or  "  campong,"  as  such  yards 
are  called  in  the  East,  so  that  our  sleeping  might  be 
fanned  by  every  breath  of  air — a  very  pleasant  arrange- 
ment, but  accompanied  by  some  contingencies,  which 
afterward  ajipeared,  and  took  a  little  from  the  full  enjoy- 
ment of  such  airy  apartments.  The  sleeping  garments  of 
this  climate  are  peculiarly  convenient.     They  consist  of 


P  I  N  A  3sr  G  .  129 

veiy  loose,  light-flowing  trowsers,  made  of  white  or 
striped  muslin  or  silk — one  style  being  fashionable  in  one 
locality,  and  one  in  another.  These  trowsers  are  fastened 
with  a  di-awing  string  around  the  waist,  and  called  pan- 
jamuaas.  Over  this  is  worn  a  badjo,  or  loose,  shirt-like 
jacket,  without  a  collar.  By  those  who  do  not  go  out 
of  the  house,  these  are  worn  as  a  loose  morning  costume, 
or  deshabille,  until  the  breakfast  toilet  is  made. 

From  dawn  to  sunrise,  and  from  sunset  till  dark,  are 
the  only  hours  for  out-door  exercise ;  and  accordingly, 
accompanied  by  a  friend,  I  started,  at  the  freshest  hour 
of  day,  for  a  stroll  through  the  streets  of  the  foreign 
residents.  It  was  like  a  walk  through  a  garden.  Smooth 
white-graveled  roads,  bordered  by  green  sward,  passed 
through  avenues  of  cocoa  and  palm  trees,  flowering  shrubs, 
and  bamboo  hedges — walls,  almost  concealed  by  foliage, 
enclosed  campongs  of  nutmeg  trees  and  other  shrubbery, 
and  in  the  midst  of  these  stood  the  dwelling,  generally 
large,  square,  and  airy,  built  of  brick,  stuccoed,  washed 
cream  color,  and  roofed  with  tiles ;  the  second  story, 
and  sometimes  the  first,  surrounded  by  Venetian  veran- 
dahs. In  front  of  every  house  is  built  a  portico,  jiroject- 
ing  twenty  or  thirty  feet,  and  resting  upon  stone  columns. 
Under  this  the  carriages  drive,  and  are  well  protected 
from  the  weather.  The  roof,  being  flat  and  paved,  forms 
a  pleasant  lounging  place  in  the  cool,  shady  hours  of  the 
day.  Returning  from  our  stroll,  wo  bathe,  throw  on  the 
badjo  and  panjammas,  take  cofiee,  and  read  or  write 
until  it  is  necessary  to  dress  for  breakfast,  which  is  ready 
from  ten  to  twelve  o'clock,  and  is  a  meal  worthy  of  the 
appetites  which  approach  it.  Tiffin  is  on  the  table  from 
one  to  three,  and  dinner  from  five  to  eight. 

The  bathing  arrangements  of  the  East,  are  very  simple. 
The  bather  stands  besides  a  tub  or  bucket  of  water,  and 
with  a  dipper  pours  it  over  himself.  This  douche  bath, 
6* 


130  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

^\'ithout  the  shock  of  the  shower  bath,  is  considered  more 
tonic  than  getting  into  the  water,  and  not  so  dangerous, 
as  having  no  tendency  to  i^roduce  congestion  of  the  brain. 
Any  one  who  can  get  a  bucket  of  water,  and  a  convenient 
place  to  stand,  can  take  such  a  bath. 

A  walk  through  the  business  part  of  the  town  has  no 
such  attractions  as  that  through  the  villa  streets  of  the 
foreign  residents.  It  is  a  complete  Chinese  town — all 
the  mechanics,  carj^enters,  cabinet-makers,  blacksmiths, 
shoemakers,  tailors,  jewelers,  are  Chinese,  and  also  the 
shopkeepers.  The  streets  are  generally  narrow,  with 
foul-smelling  ditches  on  each  side.  The  houses  are 
closely  built,  the  second  story,  or  dwelling  part,  over- 
hanging the  lowei-,  or  stores  and  shops.  Long,  narrow 
signs,  iVath  Chinese  characters,  hang  perpendicularly  at 
the  sides  of  the  doors,  and  strips  of  red  paper,  with 
Chinese  characters,  are  suspended  from  the  top  of  the 
door.  Queer-looking  Chinese  children,  with  shaved  heads 
and  young  queues,  are  playing  in  the  dirt  before  the  doors. 
Joss-houses,  or  places  of  worship,  with  Chinese  lanterns 
suspended  before  them,  are  frequent ;  and  almost,  if  nOt 
every  habitation,  has  its  private  joss,  with  a  lamp  burning 
before  it,  and  slips  of  paper  in  a  vessel  ready  to  be  lighted 
and  burned  before  the  deity.  "  Licensed  Spirit  Shop," 
"  Licensed  Toddy  and  Bang  Shop,"  "  Licensed  Opium 
Shop,"  are  signs  seen  in  every  wretched  street.  Toddy 
is  the  intoxicating  fermented  sap  of  the  cocoa-nut  tree, 
and  bang  is  a  liquid  preparation  of  the  maddening 
hachish,  or  Indian  hemp.  These  evidences  of  gross  in- 
dulgence seem  scarcely  reconcileable  with  the  untiring 
and  persevering  industry  of  the  Chinese.  All  day  long, 
in  the  hottest  weather,  in  shop  and  at  forge,  they  are  at 
their  labor;  and  bowed  beneath  the  weight  suspended 
from  each  end  of  a  long  stick  across  their  shoulder,  they 
are  met  in  the  street  and  on  the  road,  from  youth  to  old 


PIKANG.  131 

men,  hurrying  along  with  their  burdens.  Some  are 
bringing  in  loads  of  marketing,  others  are  bearing  min- 
iature peddling  shops.  One  man  is  a  peripatetic  meat 
market ;  on  the  top  of  a  large  covered  basket  is  lying  a 
quarter  of  mutton  or  pork,  and  each  of  his  suspended 
baskets  contain  his  butcher  wares.  Another  travels 
around  with  a  cook-shop  and  eating-house — his  furnace 
in  a  box  at  one  end  of  the  pole,  and  his  cooking  materials 
in  another  box,  at  the  opposite  end. 

As  we  get  on  the  outskirts  and  along  the  water-courses, 
the  houses  are  built  on  posts  five  or  six  feet  above  the 
ground,  and  reached  by  a  ladder.  The  domestic  animals 
harbor  under  the  shelter  of  their  jiroprietors,  and  when 
the  tide  flows,  it  washes  in  and  out  under  these  tenements. 

Among  the  street  and  road  sights,  few  things  are  more 
singular  than  the  large,  docile,  unwieldy,  patient-looking 
draft- buffalo.  They  are  naked,  quite  destitute  of  hair, 
generally  of  a  bluish  black,  and  sometimes  of  a  pinkish 
flesh  color.  They  have  a  hump  on  the  shoulder,  and  flat, 
corrugated  horns.  It  was  a  comfort  to  see  them  all  look 
fat  and  in  good  keeping. 

Among  the  most  repulsive  resorts  of  this  population 
are  the  opium-smoking  shops.  Situated  generally  in  filthy 
localities,  the  door  is  closed  by  a  curtain  of  dirty  coarse 
canvas,  and  no  care  seems  taken  to  gild  the  horrible  vice. 
At  night,  accompanied  by  a  friend,  I  visited  one  of  the 
principal  of  these  establishments,  over  which  hung  the 
sign  "  Opium  Farm."  In  attempting  to  open  the  lower 
half-door  of  this  establishment,  a  Chinaman  on  the  inside 
refused  us  admittance,  and  pointed  to  a  window  closed  by 
upright  wooden  bars  wide  enough  apart  to  admit  the 
hand.  A  crowd  was  gathered  around  this  window,  inside 
of  which  were  two  men,  one  busy  in  taking  money,  and 
the  other  in  passing  the  opium  to  the  squalid-looking  pur- 
chasers outside.    It  was  some  minutes  before  our  turn 


132  Till:      VOYAGE     OUT. 

came,  when,  liaiuliiig  a  rupee  (about  forty-five  cents) 
througli  tlie  Avindow,  I  received  about  a  teaspoouful  of  a 
dalk,  semi-fluid  preparation  of  opium  folded  in  a  piece 
of  corn-husk.  All  who  j^urchased  while  we  were  there 
went  ofl*,  I  presume  to  their  homes,  to  smoke  it. 

With  ours  as  a  ticket  of  admission,  we  again  approaclied 
the  door,  which  was  now  immediately  opened  to  us.  The 
apartment  was  gloomy,  dirty  and  comfortless.  A  small 
lamp  bm'ning  before  a  "joss"  threw  an  obscure  light 
over  the  place.  On  one  side  were  piled  chests  of  opium. 
In  the  shadows  of  the  apartment  one  or  two  figures  could 
be  seen  Ipng  upon  benches.  These  we  supposed  to  be 
individuals  laid  away  in  the  deep  intoxication  of  the  drug. 
Xear  the  idol  altar,  lying  in  a  recess,  were  recUning  two 
Chinamen,  wuth  a  small  lamp  between  them,  smoking  the 
opium  pipe.  One  of  these  men  seemed  to  be  half  servant, 
half  friend  of  the  other,  as  he  steadily  filled  the  'pipe  and 
handed  it  to  his  comj^anion,  only  occasionally  and  at  long- 
intervals  taking  a  whiff  himself  The  pasty  opium  was 
introduced  into  the  small  cup  by  means  of  a  slender  wire, 
and  one,  or  at  most  t\vo  whiffs,  the  smoke  being  gradually 
breathed  through  the  nose,  seemed  to  exhaust  it.  The 
effect  was  instantaneous.  The  countenance  took  on  a  rapt, 
but  unpleasantly  contracted  expression,  during  which  he  lay 
with  his  fingers  resting  on  his  forehead.  The  effect  was 
of  very  short  duration,  and  while  the  pipe  was  being  re- 
filled he  sat  up  and  conversed  with  a  natural  expression, 
occasionally  smoking  a  pipe  of  tobacco  in  the  intervals 
between  those  of  opium.  With  an  habitual  smoker  some 
hours  are  necessary  to  bring  on  the  full  intoxication. 
These  individuals  seemed  rather  gratified  than  otherwise 
at  our  attention.  The  superior  ordered  seats  to  be  brought 
us  near  them,  and  the  opium-pipe  being  filled,  courteously 
offered  it  to  us, 

I  have  alluded  to  the  discordant  tom-toms  and  screech- 


PINAICG.  ■  133 

ing  gongs  which  invaded  oui-  quiet  residence  on  our  first 
night  ashore.  Following  up  these  sounds  until  they 
grew  louder  and  more  intolerable,  they  brought  us  to  a 
motley  crowd,  over  Avhose  faces  glared  the  lights  from  a 
covered  platform  in  an  open  space  before  the  princii^al 
Chinese  temple.  It  was  a  Chinese  theatre  supported  by 
a  subscription  of  the  Celestials  for  public  performances. 
All  I  could  make  of  it  was  this  confounding  noise  of  all 
imaginable  discordant  instruments — ^a  crowd  of  people 
moving  about  the  stage  in  various  Chinese  costumes,  in- 
cluding sUken  royal  robes,  with  masked  faces,  and  in  the 
pause  of  the  instruments  screeching  to  each  other  in  voices 
no  less  discordant.  I  made  a  very  short  stay.  Inferring 
that  my  readers  are  as  tired  as  I  am  of  these  degraded 
and  senseless  exhibitions  of  a  degi-aded  humanity,  we 
will  refresh  ourselves  in  more  natural  and  invigorating 
scenes. 

Although,  under  the  influence  of  fresh  sea-breezes  and 
the  calm  pulses  of  a  quiet  life,  there  is  no  great  incon- 
venience from  the  heat  of  Pinang,  yet  the  inhabitants 
have  the  choice,  in  an  hour's  ride,  of  a  cooler  and  more 
bracing  climate.  Mr.  Greene,  a  partner  of  Mr.  Currier's 
house,  was  residing  at  his  bungalow  on  the  hill-top,  at  an 
elevation  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  feet  above  the 
sea.  This  gentleman  was  kind  enough  to  invite  us  to 
make  him  a  visit  at  his  elevated  home,  an  invitation 
which  we  gladly  accepted.  Leaving  the  city  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  we  rode,  in  palki-garis,  four 
miles,  over  graveled  roads  winding  through  palm  and 
nutmeg  groves,  to  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  here  we  found 
saddled  ponies,  and  their  attendant  Syces,  Avho  had 
been  sent  out  in  advance  of  us.  Mounting  these  lit- 
tle ponies,  which  seemed  scarcely  able  to  bear  our 
Aveight,  especially  as  two  of  our  party  were  in  the 
neighborhood  of  two  hundred  pounds,  we  commenced 


134  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

the  ascent,  the  animals  moving  off  with  astonishing  brisk- 
ness. The  whole  distance  of  the  winding  road  was  three 
miles  to  reach  the  two  thousand  five  hundred  feet  eleva- 
tion. The  road  passed  through  the  most  luxuriant  forest 
of  shrubs,  vhies,  and  towering  trees,  while  the  ground 
was  carpeted  with  mosses  and  varied  fems.  Birds  and  in- 
sects were  sounding  their  notes  through  the  forest ;  but, 
above  all,  rang  out  the  notes  of  the  trumpet-beetle,  a 
I'apid  succession  of  whirring  notes,  terminating  in  a  series 
of  shrieks  like  thtit  of  the  Guinea-fowl.  It  is  difficult  to 
conceive  of  so  much  noise  coming  from  an  insect  so  small. 
It  is  of  a  bright  green  color,  and  in  form  a  mixture  of 
locust  and  katydid.  Monkeys  dwelt  in  myriads  along  our 
route,  but  concealed  themselves  on  our  approach.  Much 
of  the  road  overhung  deep  ravines  and  precipices,  and 
occasionally  an  opening  in  the  foliage  gave  us  a  view  of 
the  distant  sea.  We  were  about  half  way  up  when  the 
evening  clouds  came  sweeping  in  smoky  mist  upon  us, 
and  we  had  every  promise  of  a  drenching  rain,  for  which 
we  were  by  no  means  prepared.  It  would  be  cruel  and 
useless  to  urge  our  ponies,  who  dug  their  hoofs  with 
spiteful  energy  into  the  earth,  and  pulled  us  up  with  all 
their  might.  The  clouds  grew  thicker  and  darker,  and 
soon  down  came  the  rain  in  torrents,  in  sheets  of  water — 
such  a  rain  as  only  can  rain  in  a  tropical  forest  of  a  moun- 
tain island  with  a  steamy  sea  around  it.  It  was  such  a 
rain  as  relieves  one  of  all  responsibility  of  guarding  against 
it,  and  induces  one  to  submit  in  pleasureable  despair,  an- 
ticipating the  comfort  of  dry  garments,  no  matter  where ; 
nor  how  they  fit.  It  was  nearly  dark  before  we  reached 
the  bungalow,  and  quite  so  before  we  were  in  dry  gar- 
ments, therefoi-e  all  picturesque  views  were  postj^oned 
until  the  morning;  and  for  the  sentimental,  we  gladly 
accepted  the  actuality  of  a  substantial  and  most  welcome 
mountain-summit  Pinang  dinner — thanks  to  the  kindness 


PINANG.  135 

of  Mr.  Greene  and  to  the  enduring  foi-titude  of  the  "bazaar 
man.  Daily  he  comes  out  from  town  a-foot,  with  the 
loaded  baskets  of  provisions  suspended  from  the  stick 
across  his  shoulders  ;  walking  all  these  eight  miles,  as- 
cending these  two  thousand  five  hundred  feet,  and  bearing 
this  bui'den,  for  twenty  cents.  Besides  t^  convenience 
of  such  cheap  transportation  of  their  marketing,  the 
moimtain  bungalow  residents  have  a  convenience  rarely 
if  ever  enjoyed  by  the  rural  residents  of  any  country. 
In  their  immediate  neighborhood  is  the  government  bun- 
galow, and  at  the  government  bungalow  is  a  semaphoric 
telegraph  ;  so  that  if  any  change  in  the  marketing  is  re- 
quired, an  extra  duck  or  chicken,  any  inquiry  to  be  made, 
or  the  physician  needed,  in  a  few  minutes  the  order  or 
message  is  conveyed  and  an  answer  returned.  We  had, 
during  our  stay  at  Pinang,  several  occasions  to  aj^preciate 
the  advantages  of  the  telegraph. 

As  we  sat  after  dinner  in  the  piazza  in  front  of  the 
drawing-room  door,  we  found  that  we  were  still  envel- 
0]5ed  in  passing  clouds,  for  the  asti'al  lamj5  behind  us 
reflected  our  shadows  upon  the  flying  vapor.  The 
thermometer  stood  at  74°  Fahrenheit,  about  12°  below 
the  temperature  of  the  plain,  a  diiference  which  produced 
chilliness,  made  thoughts  of  cloth  clothes  agreeable,  and 
a  blanket  at  night  desirable.  Then,  there  were  no  mos- 
quitoes. But  stories  and  traditions  of  gigantic  scorpions 
and  long  centipedes,  were  a  httle  calculated  to  derange 
our  sleeping  comfort. 

By  the  earliest  dawn  one  of  our  company  came  to  my 
room  in  quite  a  fit  of  enthusiasm,  calling  me  to  look  at 
the  wonderful  scenery  lying  spread  out  before  us.  It  was 
just  one  of  those  views  which  one  feels  his  incompetency 
to  convey,  by  description,  all  their  grandeur  and  all  their 
delicacy.  The  air  was  intensely,  keenly  clear,  and  fir 
down  below  us  lay  the  plain,  extending  in  a  triangular 


136  Til  E     V  O  Y  A  GE     O  UT. 

form  into  the  sea.  Like  Avhite  lines,  the  roads  curved 
through  tlie  nutmeg  groves  to  the  extreme  point  of  the 
triangle  uiDon  which  rested  the  city,  and  the  shipping  lay 
like  toys  npon  the  water.  But  the  whole  plain  of  the 
opposite  province  of  Wellesley  lay  far  below  us  covered 
in  a  fleecy  white  cloud,  tossed  into  gentle  hillocks,  with 
here  and  there  a  larger  bank,  lookmg  like  a  broad  snow- 
covered  prairie,  sweeping  away  to  the  distant  Siam  moun- 
tains, which  stood  out  clear,  blue  and  distinct — so  clear, 
that  a  gentleman  familiar  with  the  view,  said  there  was 
one  peak  visible  he  had  never  seen  before.  Here  and 
there  a  nearer  peak  rose  through  the  cloud-friU  like  a 
detached  island.  Our  point  of  view  faced  directly  toward 
the  east,  and  as  the  sun  came  over  the  highest  mountain 
summit,  his  faint  rays  falling  on  the  velvety,  snowy  hil- 
locks, beautifully  tinged  them  with  pink,  violet  and  gold- 
en hues.  As  the  sun  gained  powei',  the  cloud  covering 
was  removed  from  the  rice  and  corn  fields  of  the  plain, 
and  gathering  around  the  mountain  tops  for  the  day,  shut 
them  from  our  sight.  Our  morning  stroll  about  the 
grounds  was  in  an  atmosphere  j)erfumed  with  the  great- 
est profusion  and  variety  of  roses.  The  gardener,  each 
morning,  replaced  the  mammoth  bouquet,  of  the  day  be- 
fore, in  the  rooms  by  fresh  ones,  without  fear  of  exhaust- 
mg  his  stock.  We  extended  our  morning's  walk  be- 
yond Mr.  Greene's  premises  to  the  government  bunga- 
low, about  two  hundred  feet  higher  up.  We  there  heard 
that  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Calcutta  was  momentarily  ex- 
pected to  spend  some  days  in  this  cool  retirement.  His 
servants  were  already  there,  and  before  we  left  his  lord- 
ship arrived,  borne  in  a  palanquin  on  the  shoulders  of 
six  CooUes.  For  his  age,  seventy-eight  years,  he  was  a 
fine-looking,  hale,  cheery  old  gentleman.  As  the  Rev. 
Daniel  Wilson  he  had  earned  some  rejjutation,  and  was  the 
author  of  a  work  on  the  Evidences  of  Christianity.     All 


PINANG.  137 

accounts  represented  him  as  a  good,  earnest  and  benev- 
olent man,  but  even  our  high  churchmen  thought  his 
bearing  too  authoritative  and  lordly  to  meet  our  repub- 
lican notions  of  a  clergyman's  demeanor.  If  it  was  so,  it 
was  more  the  fault  of  the  institutions  under  which  he 
lived  than  of  the  man.  We  can  not  judge  justly  those 
placed  under  influences  to  which  we  have  never  been 
exposed. 

"  Who  made  the  heart — 'tis  He  alone 

Decidedly  can  try  us ; 
He  knows  each  chord,  its  various  tone, 

Each  spring-,  its  various  bias. 
Then  at  the  balance  let 's  be  mute, 

We  never  can  adjust  it ; 
What 's  done,  we  partly  may  compute, 

But  know  not  what  resisted." 

And  the  man  who  has  lived  for  many  years  of  a  long  life 
in  the  command  of  a  large  revenue,  in  the  enjoyment  of 
high  power  and  prerogative,  am.ong  a  people  deferential 
to  that  power — a  churchman,  whose  progress  is  marked 
by  lialvos  of  artillery — may  have  had  struggles  of  humble 
self-tcr-ching,  and  have  accomplished  a  personal  discipline 
unkno'svn  and  unnecessary  to  those  who  have  not  been 
thus  exposed.  In  the  afternoon,  the  Lord  Bishop,  sup- 
ported on  the  arms  of  his  friends,  walked  over  to  our 
bungalow,  and  made  us  a  cheoi-ful  and  pleasant  visit.  On 
the  following  morning  wc  left  our  cool  mountain  nest, 
and  before  the  heat  of  the  day  had  come,  we  were  back 
in  the  town. 

During  our  absence,  the  first  death  had  occui-red  in  our 
ship,  in  the  person  of  a  German  marine,  who  had  been 
long  sinking  under  consumption.  With  three  volleys  of 
musketi-y  over  his  grave,  we  left  him  in  the  Roman 
Catholic  cemetery  of  tliis  beautiful  island. 

The  Roman  Catholics  have  a  French  mission  at  this 


138  TUB    VOYAGE     OUT. 

place.  In  the  town  is  a  female  seminary  under  their 
charge,  and  a  few  miles  out  quite  an  extensive  college  for 
the  education  of  youth  from  Siam,  Cochin  China,  and 
other  points  of  the  East.  Those  youths  are  taken  from 
their  homes  and  fitted  for  such  priestly  and  missionary 
duties  as  may  seem  to  suit  their  natural  talent.  It  is  a 
principle  not  to  interfere  with  their  national  peculiarities 
in  costume,  etc.,  so  that  they  may  be  returned  to  their 
people  with  no  external  peculiarities  marking  theit  differ- 
ence of  faith.  In  company  with  Mr.  Han-is,  who  was 
well  acquainted  with  the  priests,  I  rode  out  to  this  col- 
lege. We  reached  there  just  as  dinner  was  over,  and  as 
we  entered  the  corridor,  the  youths,  from  fomteen  to 
twenty  years  of  age,  were  walking  about,  some  with 
books  in  their  hands,  but  all,  including  the  youngest, 
smoking  long  pipes  of  tobacco.  The  fathers  were  amus- 
ing themselves  over  a  bUliard-table.  Father  Martin,  a 
gentleman  of  great  urbanity  and  courtesy,  showed  us 
over  the  whole  institution.  He  was  an  enthusiastic 
naturalist,  and  we  had  great  pleasure  in  looking  at  his 
collections,  which,  among  other  curious  prejDarations,  had 
several  specimens  of  the  flying  fox,  a  very  singular  an- 
imal. There  was  one  fine  large  tiger  which  had  been 
killed  close  by  the  institution.  Laid  out  in  serpentine 
length  along  the  top  of  the  apartment,  was  a  large  boa 
constrictor.  Thirteen  feet  was  its  actual  length.  To  say 
such  a  reptile  is  thirteen  feet  long,  gives  no  true  ideal 
of  the  measurement  of  impression.  Exaggeration  seems 
necessary  to  tell  the  truth,  so  far  as  effect  goes  ;  and 
without  knowing  the  length  in  feet,  had  I  been  asked  the 
length  of  this  snake  after  I  had  left  it,  I  should  have 
said  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet.  To  such  mental  im- 
pressions I  attribute  the  incredible  size  which  it  is  said, 
as  sober  truth,  these  reptiles  sometimes  reach.  Individu- 
als have  told  me  they  have  seen  them  over  one  himdred 


PINANG.  139 

feet  long,  and  record  their  capacity  to  swallow  full-grown 
cattle  or  bufialos,  and  naturalists  record  it  as  a  fact  that 
they  do  so.  The  largest,  however,  of  which  I  had  posi- 
tive evidence,  was  twenty-three  feet  long,  and  from  it 
was  taken  a  pig  weighing  one  hundred  and  six  pounds — 
so  that  a  man  might  not  be  too  large  a  mouthful  to  swal- 
low. If  the  snake  I  saw  dead  grew  upon  me  in  im- 
pression from  thirteen  to  thirty  feet,  I  imagme  he  would 
have  looked  much  larger  had  I  met  him  -wi'ithing  in  the 
forest,  and  can  easUy  suppose  that  one  of  thirty  feet  would 
with  truthful  purpose  be  reported  one  hundred. 

Upon  our  return  to  Mr.  Currier's,  the  roof  of  a  back 
building  in  the  campong,  a  few  feet  from  the  back  win- 
dows of  our  airy  apartments,  was  indicated  as  the  spot 
where  the  boa  constrictor  I  had  just  seen,  had  been  killed 
only  a  few  weeks  before. 

During  our  stay  at  Pinang,  I  had  two  opportunities  of 
attending  the  Free  Scotch  Church  in  charge  of  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Moir,  an  intelligent,  earnest,  and  able  divine.  Upon 
first  entering  the  church,  I  was  sui'prised,  and  at  first 
unpleasantly  so,  at  seeing  two  long  punkas  swaying  to 
and  fro  over  each  range  of  pews,  and  a  smaller  one  over 
the  pulpit.  These  punkas  were  pulled  by  native  Moham- 
medans in  the  side  aisle.  The  moving  fans,  the  turbaned 
Mussulmans,  the  labor  of  fanning  Christians  at  their  de- 
votions, seemed  incongruous.  But  the  silent  moving 
punkas  were  no  disturbance  to  the  worship,  and  the  clat- 
tering of  an  infinitude  of  fans  would  be.  Less  manual 
labor  was  done  in  the  aggregate  by  the  three  Mussul- 
mans than  would  be  done  in  detail  by  the  individual 
fanners.  Again,  the  Mohammedans  did  not  regard  the 
Sunday  as  a  Sabbath,  and  if  not  there,  would  be  engaged 
in  active  labor  elsewhere.  -  If  they  could  understand  the 
teachings  of  the  sanctuary,  there  was  nothing  in  their 
punka-pulling  to  prevent  their  profiting  by  tliem.     I  was 


140  T  II  E     V  O  Y  A  G  E     O  U  T  . 

told  that  the  men  doing  this  work  had  all  been   con- 
demned for  murder. 

The  punka  aifords  an  illustration  of  the  servile  condition 
of  the  native  races.  Dining  with  an  English  gentleman, 
I  remarked  upon  the  comfort  of  such  an  arrangement 
in  such  a  chmate.  "Yes,"  he  said;  "but  we  can  not 
here  hire  a  man  to  pull  one  all  night  over  our  beds, 
for  less  than  $4  a  month.  In  Madras,  I  paid  only  $1.50." 
"  But,  did  one  man  pull  all  night  ?"  "  Certainly.  You  put 
him  on  a  high  stool,  oif  of  which  he  is  sure  to  fall  if  he 
goes  to  sleep.  If  you  hear  him  come  down,  go  and  give 
him  a  kicking,  and  he  will  be  sure  not  to  do  it  again." 

This  is  Indian  British  hberty.  I  would  not  adduce  the 
single  remark  as  the  foundation  of  a  general  rule,  but  it 
was  made  in  such  a  matter-of-course  manner  as  to  show  that 
it  was  the  rule  ;  and  further,  it  is  consistent  with  all  my  ob- 
servations of  India.  Since  rounding  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
I  have  not  yet  seen  the  fii'st  white  man  at  any  manual  labor, 
excepting  only  the  seamen  of  our  own  and  other  foreign 
vessels,  and  from  all  I  hear,  all  I  read,  as  well  as  aU  I  see, 
I  suppose  such  an  instance  would  be  a  marvel.  In  aU.  the. 
intercourse  between  white  and  native,  the  demeanor  of 
the  latter  is  more  servile,  the  language  used  toward  him 
more  harsh,  habitually,  than  is  the  usage  between  master 
and  slave  in  our  southern  States.  Yet  these  are,  in  name, 
free  British  subjects.  What  is  the  diflerence  between  the 
abstract  liberty  of  the  Hindoo  and  the  actual  slavery  of  the 
African  ?  I  state  facts,  which  those  who  are  honest  in 
solving  the  problems  of  humanity  ought  to  know  and  con- 
sider. "  I  thrash  them ;  I  am  obliged  to  thrash  them," 
said  a  sugar  planter  to  me.  "  To  be  sure  they  have  the 
right  to  complain,  but  we  take  care  to  prevent  that." 

During  our  stay  at  Pinang,  I  saw  much  of  an  intelligent 
commander  of  a  pepper  ship,  from  Sumatra.  Most  of  the 
pepper  trade  is  carried  on  by  American  ships,  and  yet  he 


PIXANG.  141 

told  me  that  there  were  no  surveys  of  the  coasts  except- 
ing those  naade  by  necessity  by  merchant  captains.  He 
thought,  however,  that  any  of  our  national  vessels  cruis- 
ing on  the  coa,st,  would  chance  to  do  as  much  hai-m  as 
good,  as  the  latter  had  been  the  result  of  past  proceed- 
ings. An  outrage  is  committed  upon  some  Americans  by  a 
small  body  of  individuals,  and  this  outrage,  perhaps,  pro- 
voked by  the  abduction  of  some  female — the  severest  of- 
fense which  can  be  committed  against  them — or  by  smug- 
gling off  pepper  at  night.  Without  inquiry,  or  the  means 
of  adjudicating  the  fects,  a  man-of-war  comes  along  and 
batters  down  the  town  and  the  houses  of  some  rajah 
and  his  people  entirely  innocent  of  the  matter,  and  then 
goes  away.  This  naturally  excites  a  feeling  of  bitter  hos- 
tility and  a  desire  for  vengeance,  which  may  be  wreaked 
upon  the  crew  of  the  first  unsuspecting  pepper  ship  which 
cames  along. 

The  eclat  of  vindicating  American  rights,  by  battering 
down  some  semi-barbarian  town,  may  be  brilliant  in  the 
home  papers,  but  ten  or  twelve  thousand  miles'  distance, 
and  the  absence  of  a  press  among  the  punished  people, 
may  prevent  many  contingencies  ajipearing  to  tarnish  that 
brilliancy. 

One  would  little  suppose  that  the  quiet  town  of  Pinaug 
has  the  business  which  is  really  done,  reaching  the  amount 
of  ten  millions  of  dollars.  Neai-ly  one  million  of  this  is 
with  the  United  States.  The  exports  are  tin,  brought 
from  the  tin  mines  of  Siam,  India  rubber,  gutta  percha, 
cocoa-nut  oil,  nutmegs,  pepper  from  Sumatra,  and  rattan. 

Pinang  was  once  a  possession  of  the  rajah  of  the  op- 
posite province  of  Queda,  but  was  a  beautiful  jewel  dow- 
ering the  rajah's  daughter,  and,  undoubtedly,  rendering 
more  brilliant  her  charms,  when  she  married  an  English 
gentleman  by  the  name  of  Knight,  who  subsequently  trans- 
ferred his  possession  to  the  India  Company. 


142  TUE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

Our  repairs  being  all  completctl,  on  Wednesday  morning, 
April  2d,  Avitli  an  Euglish  pilot  on  board,  Ave  got  under- 
way for  Singapore,  where  our  friends  in  the  frigate  Mace- 
donian Avere  anxiously  awaiting  our  arrival,  and  had  been 
doing  so  for  two  months,  that  they  might  return  to  the 
United  States  from  their  protracted  cruise  of  three  years. 


XIII. 

SINGAPORE. 


Asrr  one  who  Avill  look  at  the  geographical  position  of 
Singapore,  and  its  relations  to  the  commerce  between  the 
East  and  West  passing  through  the  Straits  of  Sundaand 
the  Straits  of  Malacca,  will  readily  understand  how,  in 
a  few  years,  a  thriving  city  of  forty  thousand  people  h^s 
been  planted  in  the  jungle.  Although  the  pajjers  record 
that  in  the  surrounding  thickets  of  Singapore  island  the 
tigers  destroy  an  average  of  a  Chinaman  a  day — three 
hundred  and  sixty-five  a  year — the  voyager  finds  its  har- 
bor floating  the  models  and  the  flags  of  all  nations,  from 
great  lumbering,  red-painted,  goggle-eyed  Chinese  junks, 
to  the  fine,  large  and  elegant  clipper-ship  of  the  States ; 
and  among  the  flags  of  Europe  and  America  we  saw  the 
white  elephant  banner  of  Siam,  and  the  gaudy-hued  flags 
of  other  eastern  nations. 

Another  characteristic  of  the  wide-spread  interests 
of  Singaj)ore  and  varied  nationalities  here  gathered  to- 
gether, is  found  in  the  names  of  the  business  houses  : 

Syed  Abdoal  Al  Junied,  merchant ;  Seyd  Abbobaker, 
Arab  merchant ;  Eng  Wat,  Moh  Guan  &  Brothers ;  Raab 
Quay ;  Cursetgee  &  Co. ;  Wbampoa  &  Co. ;  Shungieb- 
hay  Humusjee,  Parsee  merchant,  etc.  Such  specimens  are 
scattered  numerously  among  those  of  European  houses. 


SI  NG  AP  O  KE.  143 

and  no  men  stand  higher  in  the  commercial  world  than 
the  Arab  merchants. 

Our  anchorage  was  necessarily  a  long  distance,  from  two 
to  three  miles,  from  the  shore,  and  falling  readily  into  the 
usage  which  makes  the  native  the  ser^^le  laborei',  we  em- 
ployed two  native  boats  to  run  between  the  ship  and  shore, 
instead  of  using  our  own  boats  and  seamen.  These  boats 
were  narrow,  sharp,  flat-bottomed,  ticklish,  wabbling 
things,  roofed  over  the  middle  with  matting,  and  rowed 
by  three  or  four  natives.    They  were  very  neat  and  clean. 

Singapore  is  Piuang  enlarged.  There  are  the  same 
neat,  garden-surrounded,  stylish  houses  of  the  foreign  resi- 
dents, with  pleasant  promenades  and  drives  through  them, 
and  the  same  long,  narrow,  close-crowded,  opium-smok- 
ing, toddy  and  bang  drinking  streets  of  the  pounding, 
blowing,  fihng,  sewing,  stitching,  laboring  Chinamen  ;  but 
the  two  sections  are,  in  this  instance,  separated  from  each 
other  by  a  stream  crossed  at  several  points  by  bridges. 
The  street  which  runs  along  the  business  side  of  this  river 
is  lumbered  with  piles  of  the  products  of  the  East  and 
the  West,  and  crowded  with  the  bufialo  carts  carrying 

away,  or  laborers  passing  it  into  the  adjoining  stores. 
Rising  above  all,  for  live  hundred  feet,  is  the  foliage-cov- 
ered government  hill,  with  the  British  Hag  flying  before 
the  house  which  tops  the  summit.  From  this  hill  is  a 
good  view  of  the  town,  the  harbor  and  the  nutmeg  groves 
of  the  surrounding  country.  The  Cliinese  are  in  such 
numbers  and  Avealth  that  their  joss-house  or  temple  is 
said  to  be  one  of  the  finest  to  be  seen.  I  directed  my 
Syce  to  drive  there.  Admission  was  given  us  by  a  Mo- 
hammedan native,  who  had  his  quarters  in  one  corner  of 
the  temple  paved  court.  Before  unlocking  the  door  he 
cast  over  his  shoulder  and  breast  a  band  witli  a  silver 
plate  engraved  "Chinese  church."  Tliis  individual  con- 
ducted us  around,  pronouncing  in  EugUsh  the  names  of 


144  TUB    VOYAGE     OUT. 

the  various  things  he  thought  objects  of  interest.  The 
idols  As-ere  three  behind  each  of  two  altars,  representing 
a  higher  and  two  lower  deities,  and  on  each  side  of  the 
collection  was  a  figure  the  size  of  life,  and  whose  character 
was  easily  read  iu  his  demoniac  face  and  long  tail  curled 
over  his  shoulder,  even  if  our  guide  had  not  said,  shortly, 
pointing  his  finger  at  them — "  Devil."  The  whole  aflfair 
was  a  collection  of  confused  carving  iu  wood  and  stone, 
of  gilding  and  tinsel,  with  distorted  figures  of  human 
beings  and  animals.  There  was  nothing  to  admire,  and 
but  little  to  wonder  at,  where  absurdity  and  stupidity  are 
the  rule,  and  therefore,  after  a  glance  around,  I  put  some 
buckskeesh  in  the  guide's  hand  when  he  immediately,  uu; 
der  the  roof  of  the  sanctuary,  said,  "  You  take  some  beer, 
good  English  beer."  My  companion  and  I  assented  for 
the  novelty  of  the  thing.  He  conducted  us  to  his  room 
in  the  court  corner,  took  down  a  bottle  of  Scotch  ale 
from  a  high  shelf,  and  drew  it  for  us.  An  old  woman 
and  another  man  came  in  and  squatted  on  the  brick  floor 
— his  mother  and  brother.  "We  ofi:ered  our  host  and  his 
relatives  some  of  our  ale,  but  they  all  declined,  being 
Mohammedans.  Double  the  usual  price  being  charged 
for  the  prohibited  hquor,  made  the  Mussulman's  fee  for 
showing  the  Chinese  temple  to  Christian  visitors. 

Among  the  individuals  of  whom  the  stranger  first 
hears  iu  Singapore,  is  Whamj^oa,  the  Chinese  merchant. 
Kot  to  allude  to  Whampoa  would  be  to  cast  a  doubt 
over  one's  having  really  been  in  Singapore.  In  the  first 
place  he  has  the  reputation  of  being  a  strictly  honest 
man,  which,  being  a  noble  reputation  everywhere,  has  the 
merit  of  being  a  particularly  rare  one  in  the  East.  Of 
my  own  knowledge  I  can  not  speak  to  this  fact.  You 
will  go  to  Whampoa's,  and  you  will  find  him  at  his  desk 
behind  an  inclosure  in  his  ship-chandlery  store,  and  will 
be  introduced  to  a  good  looking,  stout-bodied,  round- 


SIXGAPOEE.  145 

faced,  Chinese  gentleman.  In  this  apartment,  settling 
bills,  buying  stores,  or  merely  looking  on,  you  will  find 
English,  French,  and  American  officers,  with  citizens  of 
all  countries.  The  great  attraction,  however,  is  the  sec- 
ond story.  There,  handsomely  arranged  in  cases  and 
shelves  around  the  sides  and  through  the  centre  of  tlie 
apartment,  are  the  shawls  and  embroideries  of  cashmere 
from  India,  sandal  wood,  card  cases,  boxes,  work  baskets 
handsomely  inlaid  in  colored  metals,  carved  ebony  work. 
From  China  the  hundred  useful  things  and  toys  in  ivory, 
sandal  wood,  silver,  besides  shawls,  paintings,  and  silks ; 
and  mingled  with  these  are  the  products  of  western  ele- 
gance and  art.  TVhampoa  has  a  handsome  country  resi- 
dence, amid  sj^ice  groves  and  gardens,  about  five  miles 
from  town.  Here  he  entertains  strangers  with  courteous 
hospitality,  and  very  kindly,  during  his  business  avoca- 
tions in  the  city,  gives  visitors  a  ticket  of  admission  to 
his  house  and  grounds.  With  one  of  these  tickets,  three 
or  four  lines  of  Chinese  characters  run  ofi"  rapidly  with 
a  brush  up  and  down  a  piece  of  yeUow  blotting  j^aper,  I 
drove  out  there.  The  house  was  profusely  furnished  in 
a  mingled  Chinese  and  European  style.  Handsome  cabi- 
nets of  minerals  and  bijouterie ;  paintings ;  a  good  En- 
glish hbrary,  and  one  of  Chinese  books.  Nothing  could 
look  more  comfortable  and  appropriate  than  his  sleeping 
apartment.  The  bedstead  was  in  size  a  chamber  itself, 
shut  in  by  a  fine  gauze  frame,  and  closed  by  a  gauze 
door.  The  bed  was  covered  with  a  fine  mat,  and  around 
its  side  lay  difierent  styles  of  cushions  and  pillows.  A 
punka  was  suspended  across  the  bed,  the  cord  of  which 
led  into  an  adjoining  dressing-room.  In  his  drawing-room 
the  portrait  of  Commodore  Perry  was  jjaired  with  that 
of  Lord  Nelson. 

Whampoa  is   a   gentleman  of  many  enterprises,  and 
among  them  he  has  a  flouring-mill  which  I  had  the  curi- 

7 


140  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

osity  to  visit.  It  was  alive  with  Chinamen,  all  the  opera- 
tions being  carried  on  by  hand.  Chinamen  ran  round 
with  the  mill-stones  by  means  of  hand-spikes  in  the 
upper  stone.  The  bolting  was  a  very  curious  process. 
A  section  of  a  round  piece  of  tixnber  rested  with  its  con- 
vex surface  Uke  a  rocker  upon  the  floor.  On  its  tipper 
flat  surface  was  fixed  a  short  board  projecting  a  little  over 
the  edge  of  the  rocker.  A  Chinaman,  standing  with  a 
foot  on  each  end  of  this  board,  by  rapid  motion  of  his  legs 
up  and  down,  agitated  to  and  fro  a  lever  connected  with 
the  bolting-cloth,  and  conveying  to  it  the  sifting  motion. 
Every  Chinaman,  with  the  perspiration  rolling  down  his 
body,  naked  to  the  waist,  was  fanning  himself  in  time 
with  the  rapid  motion  kej^t  up  by  his  legs.  When  but 
the  lower  part  of  the  legs  were  concealed,  as  they  were  in 
most  instances,  by  articles  lying  around  the  room,  these 
men  had  the  ridiculous  appearance  of  dancing  jigs  and 
fanning  themselves  in  competition  wiih  each  other.  The 
inference  is,  that  Chinaman  power  is  cheaper  than  that  of 
steam  in  Singapore. 

The  exports  of  Singajiore  are  the  same  as  those  from 
Pinang,  with  the  addition,  to  a  large  extent,  of  sago.  A 
sago  factory  was  next  to  the  flour-mill  of  Whampoa. 
This  was  also  thronged  with  laboring  Chinese.  The  fec- 
ula  of  the  sago  palm  is  brought  to  Singapore  in  a  crude 
state  in  mat  baskets.  It  is  here  washed  to  snowy  white- 
ness, and  formed  into  the  small  pearls  in  which  it  is  found 
in  commerce  by  passing  through  sieves,  and  dried  in 
ranges  of  pans  set  in  a  furnace.  With  the  exception  of 
a  part  of  Sunday,  one  day  was  all  the  time  I  had  for  my 
observation  of  Singapore.  At  its  close,  after  dining  with 
our  consul.  Dr.  Bradley,  I  returned  to  our  ship,  and  the 
following  day  we  started  for  Siam. 


F  A  N  K  W  E  I. 


II 


SIAM   AND   THE   SIAMESE. 


SIAM  AND  THE   SIAMESE. 


XIV. 

KINODOM     OF    THE    WHITK     ELEPHANT. 

At  Singapoi'e  we  were  at  another  end  of  the  earth,  at 
a  city  within  less  than  two  degrees  of  the  equator,  and 
at  the  extreme  point  of  Asia.  Rounding  this  termination 
of  the  eastern  continent,  our  way  was  now  to  that  king- 
dom which  lies  immediately  north  of  this  Malayan  pen- 
insula— the  southern  kingdom  of  the"  Asiatic  continent, 
lying  between  the  6th  and  20th  degrees  of  north  latitude, 
a  territory  bounded  by  mountains  unexplored  by  civiliza- 
tion, but  presenting  the  testimony  of  being  rich  in  min- 
eral wealth.  It  is  watered  by  the  ]\Ienam,  whose  course 
is  eight  hundred  miles,  and  mvich  of  it  through  luxuriant 
forests  of  the  valuable  teak  wood,  and  plains  of  great  fer- 
tility ;  producing  rice  and  sugar  at  the  lowest  cost  of 
production,  spices,  and  an  abundance  of  the  most  choice 
fruits. 

All  this  old  eastern  world  is  very  young.  Its  age  is 
like  that  of  the  rock  or  tree-inclosed  frog  who  is  again 
born  to  the  light  after  the  centuries  of  structure  which 
have  grown  around  him  falls  beneath  the  ax  or  is  shat- 
tered by  the  explosion  of  a  new  civilization.  The  teach- 
ers of  that  old  eastern  world  arc  themselves  but  just 


150  SIAM      AND     XHK     SIAMESE. 

bom.  The  great  Anglo-Saxon  republic  of  Australia,  and 
the  other-day-planted  republic  of  the  same  race  on  the 
western  coast  of  America — when  their  power,  commerce, 
civilization  and  Christianity  are  brought  to  bear  upon  the 
nations  of  Asia,  who  can  anticipate  the  result  ?  How- 
ever, we  people,  older  in  all  that  which  the  world  values, 
are  already  looking  for  that  result  and  bringing  it  about. 
Hence  the  special  mission  of  the  Hon,  Townsend  Harris, 
Consul  General  to  Japan,  to  this  White  Elephant  kingdom. 

On  Sunday,  the  16th  of  April,  we  anchored  in  an  ex- 
panse of  muddy  water,  over  whose  surface,  distant  twelve 
or  fourteen  miles,  could  be  seen  the  tops  of  the  trees  on 
the  banks  of  the  Menam.  A  few  small  native  craft  were 
lying  off  what  we  supposed  to  be  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
and  near  our  anchorage  was  a  group  of  American,  En- 
glish, Dutch  and  French  ships. 

A  boat  and  an  officer  were  immediately  detailed  to  visit 
the  shore,  announce  our  arrival,  and  make  arrangements 
for  the  landing  of  the  mission  suite  and  presents.  How- 
ever, some  Americans  who  were  visiting  a  ship  at  the 
anchorage  came  on  board  of  us.  They  were  about  re- 
turning to  the  large  city  of  Bangkok,  distant  forty-five 
miles,  and  the  official  communications  were  committed  to 
them,  and  I  sent  a  communication  with  which  I  had  been 
intrusted  to  one  of  the  brothers  of  the  king,  who  was  a 
physician,  and  member  of  the  New  York  Academy  of 
Medicine.  The  detail  for  accompanying  the  Commis- 
sioner was  made  out,  including  the  marine  guard  and 
the  band. 

All  day  Monday  we  expected  some  reply  to  the  mes- 
sage sent  up  to  Bangkok,  but  none  came.  Early  on  Tues- 
day morning,  the  quartermaster  of  the  look-out  reported 
the  appearance  of  steam  over  the  distant  land,  and  this, 
as  we  inferred,  was  from  a  small  steamer  belonging  to  the 
King  of  Siam,  coming  down  the  Menam.     In  the  course 


KINGDOM      OF     THE     WHITE     EL  EPUAXT.       151 

of  a  few  hours,  this  tiny  commencement  of  the  Menam's 
future  steam  marine,  painted  bright  bUie,  came  puffing 
towards  us,  as  if  worn  out  by  her  exertions.  The  bustle 
of  preparation  for  the  departure  of  our  large  party  now 
commenced — the  ijacldng  of  trunks  and  bedding,  cook- 
ing provisions  and  rations  for  the  men.  The  steamer 
anchored  near  us,  and  our  Ijoats  being  sent  her,  brought 
to  our  ship  the  Pra  Kallahone  or  Prime  Minister  of  the 
kingdom,  and  suite  of  his  younger  brothers,  sons,  servants, 
sword-bearer,  gold  teapot,  and  betel-nut-box  bearers.  They 
are  of  a  light  mulatto  color,  short  stature,  Hght  bodies, 
small  features,  but  heavy  stout  limbs.  Their  teeth  were 
jet  black  from  the  use  of  betel-nut  and  lime,  while  the 
saliva,  colored  by  its  use,  crimsoned  their  mouths.  They 
wore  loose  sarongs,  or  loin  cloths,  of  rich  silk,  passing 
around  the  hips  and  between  the  legs,  one  corner  fast- 
ened by  tucking  in  at  the  waist  in  front,  and  the  other  at 
the  back,  so  that  the  loose  side  of  the  garment  fell  like 
full  trowsers  as  low  as  the  calf;  the  remainder  of  the  legs 
and  the  feet  were  entirely  bare.  No  upper  garment  is 
generally  worn,  except  upon  state  occasions,  and  this  being- 
one  of  them,  they  wore  silk  jackets  of  bright  colors.  The 
head  was  bare,  and  Avith  the  hair  cropped  short,  or  shaved, 
all  excepting  three  or  four  inches  of  top-knot  on  the  front 
of  the  head,  giving  them  the  aj^pearance  of  what  are 
known  as  Polish  chickens.  The  contrast  between  the  rich 
silken  jackets  and  sarongs,  the  cropped  heads,  black  teeth, 
bloody-looking  mouths,  and  bare  feet,  was  very  great. 

The  scabbards  of  the  swords  and  the  betel-nut-boxes 
were  of  solid,  handsomely-wrought  gold,  thickly  studded 
with  jewels,  and  were  of  native  workmanship.  The  box 
borne  by  the  prime  minister's  sei'vant  was  nearly  a  foot 
long  by  about  four  inches  broad,  and  two  deep.  Inside 
of  it  were  several  small  boxes  of  wi-ought  gold. 

One  of  the  striking  characteristics  of  the  people,  and 


152  SI  AM      AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

prominently  shown  in  this  our  first  introduction  to  them, 
is  the  chiim  of  rank  and  jDrimogeniture.  No  man  of  inferior 
position  must  be,  in  place  or  position,  on  the  same  level 
with  his  superior,  and  there  are  scarcely  such  relations 
among  any  as  equals.  If  a  superior  appears,  all  inferiors 
seat  themselves  on  the  ground,  or  squat  below  him,  with 
their  feet  concealed  from  view.  If  they  are  compelled  to 
be  in  the  same  apartment,  as  in  audience  chambers,  there 
are  floors  of  elevation  for  each  grade.  Every  man  takes 
his  meals  at  a  small  table  by  himself  The  younger  broth- 
ers kneel  in  addressing  their  elders,  or  handing  any  thing 
to  them. 

The  prime  minister  was  walking  along  the  deck  of  our 
ship,  and  his  cigar  became  extinguished.  He  turned  to 
one  of  his  brothers,  a  stout  young  man,  handsomely  clad 
in  silken  sarong  and  blue  sUk  jacket,  and  asked  for  a 
light ;  the  bi'other  sank  immediately  to  his  knee,  and  re- 
mained in  that  position  until  his  distinguished  relative  had 
lighted  his  cigar  and  passed  in. 

It  is  said  that  when  Sir  John  Bowriug  was  negotiating 
the  British  treaty,  Sir  John  and  his  suite  were  seated  in 
the  room  of  a  second  story,  and  the  Siamese,  to  reach  it, 
must  pass  through  the  lower  story,  and  consequently  be  ■ 
neath  theii-  visitors.  To  obviate  the  degradation  of  such 
a  position,  a  ladder  was  placed  at  a  window  of  the  upper 
story,  and  by  this  the  Siamese  princes  and  nobles  ascend- 
ed to  the  audience  chamber.  There  were  two  lads  of 
twelve  or  fourteen  with  the  party.  These  lads  were  too 
young  to  have  any  specific  title,  but  all  young  persons 
who  are  likely  by  birth  to  acquire  title  are  called  young 
"  coons."  They  passed  all  over  the  ship,  examining  it 
with  great  care,  and  the  prime  minister  and  his  son  seem- 
ed to  take  special  interest  in  every  thing  they  saw.  The 
young  man  was  a  naval  architect,  and  had  modeled  and 
built  the  little  blue  steamer  which  brought  them  to  us. 


KINGDOM     OF     THE     WHITE     ELEPHANT.     153 

The  engine  tliey  got  out  from  the  United  States,  and  put 
together  themselves,  although  they  had  no  practical  in- 
struction in  engineering,  or  any  other  than  casual  infor- 
mants, or  from  books.  The  government  is  administered 
by  two  kings,  who  are  brothers.  The  first  king  has  a 
general  control  over  all  afiairs,  and  the  second  king  com- 
mands the  militaiy.  According  to  the  usage  of  the  mon- 
archy, so  far  as  there  is  any  usage,  the  second  king  suc- 
ceeds the  first  upon  his  death  ;  but  this  right  is  not  ad- 
mitted by  the  first  king  if  he  has  heirs,  and  the  matter 
would  be  decided  by  the  nobles.  Under  other  names 
these  sovereigns  hold  the  relations  to  each  other  of  our 
President,  Vice-President,  and  Commander-in-chief  of  the 
army.  Under  the  name  of  Fa-Chou,  the  second  king  has 
been  extensively  known  to  foreigners  and  Americans, 
from  his  knowledge  of  the  English  language,  its  literature 
and  science. 

The  second  king  has,  with  his  O'vvn  hands,  constructed 
a  steam  engine  in  all  its  jiarts.  Both  brothers  have  con- 
siderable attainments  in  astronomy,  calculate  eclijises, 
etc.,  and  are  members  of  the  "  Asiatic  Astronomical 
Society." 

The  proper  names  and  titles  of  these  princes  "v\dll  be 
seen  when  we  come  to  the  treaty,  and  Chou-Fa  is  a  gen- 
eral term  for  those  princes  who  are  noble  by  both  parents. 

Our  visitors  remained  with  us  several  hours,  partook 
of  refreshments,  and  finally  took  their  leave,  giving  us  no 
satisfaction  as  to  our  future  movements,  and  making  all 
our  hurried  jweparation  useless.  Mr.  Parkes,  who  brought 
out  the  English  ratified  treaty,  is  still  here,  and  has  been 
for  some  weeks  endeavoring  to  launch  it  into  successful 
oi)eration,  in  which  he  has  found  some  difliculty  and  many 
obstacles.  Mr.  Parkes  is  uncertain  when  he  will  get 
through.  The  presence  of  this  gentleman  is  no  doubt 
some  obstacle  to  our  negotiations  bchig  connuenccd.     He 

1* 


154  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

occupies  the  best  quarters ;  and,  although  they  have 
built  large  bamboo  houses  for  the  accommodation  of  our 
own  and  the  French  mission,  the  prime  minister  said  we 
would  not  be  so  comfortable  in  them  as  in  that  now  occu- 
pied by  the  British  envoy.  I  suspect  they  do  not  want 
too  much  on  their  hands  at  once ;  and  soon  the  French 
mission  will  be  pressing  them. 

They  must  be  impressed  with  their  increasing  impor- 
tance to  the  western  powers.  This  treaty-making  is  a 
difficult  and  responsible  business  among  such  a  people.  It 
is  contrary  to  the  traditions,  notions  and  habits  of  the 
masses  to  be  in  appearance  surrendering  rights  to  foreign 
powers,  and  especially  western  powers.  It  is  contrary  to 
the  interest  of  the  nobles  to  be  opening  for  general  com- 
petition a  trade  of  which  they  now  have  the  monopoly. 
The  enlightenment  and  education  of  the  two  kings,  being 
so  far  in  advance  of  their  nation,  may  prove  then*  ruin.  It 
may  be  regarded  as  the  evidence  of  treachery  to  the  inter- 
ests of  the  nation,  or  incompetency  to  comprehend  them. 
The  first  king,  in  his  character  of  Buddhist  priest,  has  ex- 
punged from  their  books  the  cosmogony,  retaining  only  the 
moral  precepts,  because  the  teacHngs  of  that  cosmogony 
were  adverse  to  the  introduction  of  western  science. 

We  well  know  that  no  important  treaty  is  made,  or  other 
political  step  taken,  among  civilized  nations,  without  ex- 
citing the  hostility  and  opposition  of  certain  parties  and 
factions.  The  same  influences  necessarily  agitate  these 
semi-civilized  nations ;  and  many  who,  before  the  making 
of  one  treaty,  might  be  favorable  to  it,  might,  by  the  rival- 
ries and  jealousies  of  its  progress,  disappointment  in  pres- 
ents, etc.,  be  thrown  into  opposition  to  another  ;  so  that  I 
am  prepared  to  expect  more  difficulties  in  our  negotiations 
than  now  appeal',  unless  great  address  is  used  in  meeting 
them.  After  the  departure  of  our  visitors,  to  whom  we 
gave  a  salute  with  the  Siamese  flag  at  the  fore,  there  was 


KINGDOM     OF    THE     WHITE     ELEPHAXT,       155 

great  impatience  got  up  on  board  at  our  detention.  Ship- 
board weariness,  lying  in  tliis  monotonous  gulf,  was  ex- 
cessive. We  are  now  within  a  few  days  of  our  letters, 
and  anxious  to  reach  them ;  and  various  mdignant  and 
belligerent  opinions  burst  forth, 

"  Well,  if  I  had  this  treaty  to  make,"  said  one,  "  I 
would  just  say  to  them,  'I  have  only  so  many  days  to 
stay,  and  if  the  treaty  is  not  made  by  that  time,  I  shall 
clear  out.'  " 

"  But,"  it  was  replied,  "they  may  answer,  'You  came 
here  seeking  us,  and  forcing  this  negotiation  upon  us,  and 
have  the  same  freedom  to  go  as  you  had  to  come,' " 

"  Then  I  should  go,"  said  another.  "  A  treaty  with  such 
a  country  as  this  can  be  no  advantage  to  us." 

"  Not  worth  a  damn,"  says  a  third. 

"  The  statesmen  of  three  such  commercial  powers  as 
the  United  States,  England  and  France,  appear  to  think 
differently,  by  the  costly  squadrons,  the  presents,  and  the 
large  salaried  envoys  they  send  here  treaty  seeking,"  was 
the  answer  to  this  ship-board  diplomacy. 

The  betel-nut  chewing — the  semi-nude  nobility — the 
excessive  reverence  for  age  and  rank,  and  all  its  formal 
external  manifestations,  were  things  to  wonder  at  in  con- 
trast with  our  own  usages  ;  and  called  from  many  expres- 
sions of  contempt  as  evidences  of  barbarism ;  but  I  could 
imagine  a  Siamese  going  home  and  relating  his  experience 
of  a  visit  to  our  ship,  I  can  see  him  take  a  seat  on  his 
cool  mat,  surrounded  by  his  large  family,  and  say,  "  It  is 
wonderful  that  a  people  who  have  acquired  so  much  skill 
in  building  ships,  and  make  so  many  useful  instruments, 
should  yet  be  so  stupid  and  benighted  in  many  of  the 
usages  which  make  life  comfortable  ;  and  I  am  not  sur- 
prised that  they  desire  association  with  us,  to  learn  some 
of  our  "wise  customs." 

The  old  gentleman  now  stops  for  breath,  and  makes  a 


156  SI  AM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

sign  to  one  of  the  females  sitting  around  him.  She  handed 
him  an  elegantly-Avrought  golden  box,  tinted  with  reddish 
hues.  Looking  at  it  for  a  moment  before  he  opened  it, 
he  said,  "  Among  their  rich  presents,  I  have  seen  nothing 
equal  to  our  skDl  in  gold,  or  to  the  elegance  of  this  box." 

Opening  it  he  took  from  it  a  pawn,  of  which  it  contained 
several.  The  pawn  is  a  globe  of  green  fresh  leaf,  contain- 
ing the  betel-nut  preparation.  They  are  prepared  by  the 
females,  and  deposited  all  ready  in  the  betel-nut-box. 

"  Instead,"  continued  the  old  gentleman,  "  of  this  bra- 
cing nut,  mingled  with  fragrant  sj^ices,  and  tinging  the 
mouth  Vermillion,  they  fill  their  mouths  with  the  poison 
tobacco  plant,  made  more  black  and  disgusting  by  some 
mode  of  preparation.  It  makes  the  saliva  flow  from  their 
mouths  in  dark  yellow  streams ;  and  all  about  their  rooms 
they  have  small  vessels  to  catch  the  ofiensive  fluid  and  to 
receive  the  black  remains  of  the  tobacco,  whose  juices 
have  been  pressed  out  by  then*  teeth.  These,  in  then* 
very  harsh  language,  are  called  quids." 

"Horrible  beasts!"  exclaimed  Ronta,  the  ebony-teethed 
and  pinky-lipped  favorite  wife. 

"  Do  such  wretches  have  any  other  wives  than  those 
they  buy  ?"  asked  Mou,  the  last  and  youngest  addition  to 
the  harem. 

"I  have  not  told  you  the  worst,"  rephed  their  lord. 
"  The  physician  informed  me  that  the  effect  of  this  poison 
was  to  make  them  weak  and  trembling,  to  take  away  the 
desire  for  food,  and  to  keep  them  wakeful  and  restless ; 
but  such  is  their  devotion  to  this  poison,  that  they  even 
leave  the  company  of  their  wives  to  enjoy  it,  it  being 
against  their  laws  to  have  the  vessel  for  holding  the  yel- 
low spittle  in  the  same  rooms  with  their  wives." 

"  That,"  said  Ronta,  "  must  be  to  keep  their  wives 
from  enjoying  whatever  pleasures  their  husbands  find  in 
the  poison." 


KINGDOM     OF     THE     WHITE     ELEPHANT.       157 

"  Were  I  the  king,  I  would  make  no  treaty  with  such 
fihhy  barbarians,"  said  Mou. 

"  They  have  no  idea,"  said  the  old  gentleman,  "  of  the 
use  of  garments.  Instead  of  dressing  themselves  for  com- 
fort, decency  and  cleanhness,  they  envelop  all  parts  of 
the  person,  those  which  show  its  symmetry  and  health,  in 
close,  heavy  garments,  hiding  all  blemishes,  and  retain- 
ing the  moisture  of  the  skin  about  it  instead  of  allowing 
them  to  be  swept  away  by  the  free  atmosphere,  or  washed 
away  by  the  free  and  daily  bathing  which  we  use." 

"  How,"  asked  Routa,  "  do  they  manage  such  jSlthy 
arrangements  ?" 

"  It  was  a  great  mystery  to  me,  but  I  was  very  particu- 
lar to  inquire,  and  wrote  it  all  down  on  a  piece  of  paper." 
He  took  the  golden  box,  turning  up  the  pawns  ;  in  the  bot- 
tom were  several  folds  of  paper,  from  which  he  read  as 
follows : 

" '  First,  they  draw  on  the  feet  two  long  cotton  bags, 
pressing  the  toes  together ;  over  this  they  draw  a  long  cot- 
ton garment,  which  ties  with  strings  around  the  lower  parts 
of  the  legs,  and  shuts  them  up  in  two  tight  bags,  keeping 
the  blood  up  in  the  legs  until  the  veins  almost  burst.' " 

"  Terrible !"  breathed  out  the  listeners,  Avith  rapt  at- 
tention. 

"  '  Then,'  went  on  the  narrator,  '  they  draw  over  this 
a  long  Avoolen  garment,  which,  with  thick  folds,  comes  up 
around  the  middle  of  the  body,  and  fastens  with  heavy 
straps  and  buckles  across  the  shoulders.  Before  putting 
over  these  straps,  they  take  a  light  loose  cotton  jacket, 
which  would  be  almost  as  pleasant  as  our  o\\ti  if  they  per- 
mitted it  to  hang  loosely,  but  they  tuck  it  in  tightly  around 
their  hot  and  constrained  bodies,  and  over  this  they  fasten 
a  gloomy,  dark-colored,  woolen  garment,  covering  them 
from  the  hips  to  the  hands  in  its  close  folds.'  " 

"But  that,"  asked  Ronta,  "is  only  in  their  own  liorrid 


158  SI  AM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

country,  where  tbe  snn  does  not  shine  and  the  running 
■\vatcr  turns  to  stone  ?" 

"  You  fool,  you,  no  !  I  've  not  been  there,  and  I  toll 
you  Avhat  I  saw  under  the  burning  sun  of  Siam.  They  do 
make  these  outer  garments  sometimes  of  white  cotton, 
but  it  is  only  by  stealth.  I  believe  it  is  against  the  pre- 
cepts of  their  religion  to  do  so,  and  I  shall  record  in  the 
annals  of  Siam  that  those  who  dress  in  white  are  outcasts 
and  heretics.     Poor  wretches,  how  I  pity  them  ! 

"  I  have  not  read  you  yet  about  what  they  put  on  their 
heads." 

"  Their  heads  !  why,  do  n't  they  leave  them  exposed  to 
the  free  air  ?" 

"  Not  at  all.  They  piit  on  their  heads  black,  iron-look- 
ing things  with  rims,  which  look  as  though  they  would 
make  good  rice  pots,  or  they  cover  them  up  with  thick 
folds  of  cotton  and  cloth,  with  a  stiff  piece  of  leather  in 
front." 

"  How  stupid  I" 

"  By  close  observation  and  some  inquiry,  I  ascertained 
that  there  was  a  mysterious  meaning  in  these  garments, 
which  led  the  poor  people  to  endure  them,  notwithstand- 
ing theii"  filthy  and  uncomfortable  character.  There  really 
seemed  to  be  more  in  the  dress  than  in  the  unhappy  be- 
ings to  whom  it  belonged. 

"  There  is  a  kind  of  officer  among  them  who  walks  all 
day  on  the  deck  of  the  ship  and  sees  everything  properly 
done.  I  was  talking  to  one  of  these  officers  just  before 
he  was  called  to  his  post.  It  was  in  a  lower  chamber,  and 
he  had  on  the  unlawful  white  clothes.  When  they  called 
him  to  go  up  on  the  deck  he  pulled  off  his  white  jacket. 
I  was  glad  to  see  that,  as  I  thought  he  would  be  cooler ; 
but  then  he  put  on  one  of  the  dark  woolen  jackets  with 
heavy  metal  buttons,  and  looked  terribly  hot  and  uncom- 
fortable as  he  walked  up  and  down  in  the  hot  sun." 


THE     WHITE     ELEPHANT     AT     HOME.  159 

Such,  possibly,  may  be  tlie  Siamese  criticism  upon  our 
habits,  coi-responding  to  that  we  pass  upon  them. 

After  the  departure  of  our  noble  friends,  time  hung  in 
heavy  monotony  and  hourly  expectancy  until  Thursday 
morning,  when  we  were  boarded  by  a  large  boat  with 
mat  sails  and  two  rudders,  one  on  each  side,  of  the  sharp 
stern.  Its  appearance  was  announced  by  the  clamor  of 
Siamese,  the  squealing  of  pigs  and  the  mingled  cries  of 
ducks  and  fowls.  It  proved  a  boat  of  presents  from  the 
king.  Twelve  hundred  pounds  of  sugar,  four  chests  of  fine 
tea,  piles  of  fruit,  and  hundreds  of  cocoa-nuts  and  fowls, 
with  four  pigs,  all  to  keep  us  in  good  humor  while  we 
waited  the  slow  progress  of  diplomacy. 


XV. 

THE    WHITE    ELEPHANT    AT    HOME. 

Eaelt  on  the  morning  of  April  21st,  two  enormous 
teak-wood  boats  or  canoes,  and  the  little  sky-blue  steamer 
were  seen  approaching  our  ship.  The  canoes  were  man- 
ned by  from  thirty  to  forty  rowers  in  crimson  jackets  and 
caps,  and  from  various  points  of  the  canoes  bright-colored 
small  silk  banners  were  fluttering  in  the  breeze — some 
blue,  some  white,  and  others  crimson.  The  bow  and 
stern  of  the  boats  were  built  up  high,  and  in  the  centre, 
dividing  the  rowers  into  two  bodies  fore  and  aft,  was  a 
small  house,  or  roofed  shed,  for  the  passengers.  There 
are  no  seats  in  Siamese  boats  ;  a  mat,  a  Persian  rug,  and 
a  hard  triangular  leather  pillow  to  support  the  back,  or 
throw  the  arm  over  in  a  semi-recumbent  posture,  is  the 
mode. 

A  small  schooner  which  had  previously  come  down, 
was  hauled  alongside  the  San  Jacinto  to  receive  the 
presents,  and  all  was  again  in  a  stir  and  bustle  of  prepara- 


160  SIAM     AND     TUB     SIAMESE. 

tion  for  our  departure.  With  our  baggage,  some  extem- 
porized bedding,  and  stores  of  provisions,  we  were  all  on 
board  the  steamer,  with  a  name  as  long  as  herself,  "  The 
Royal  Seat  of  Siamese  Naval  Force,"  and  under  way  for 
the  Menam  by  half-past  ten  o'clock.  The  marine  guard, 
with  Lieutenant  Tyler  in  command,  had  gone  ahead  in 
the  boats  with  the  crimson  rowers  and  bright  flags. 

Mr.  Harris,  the  Consul  General,  Commodore  Armstrong, 
Lieutenants  Lewis,  Rutledge,  Carter,  Assistant  Surgeon 
Daniels,  Chief  Engineer  Isherwood,  the  secretaries  to  Mr. 
Harris  and  to  the  Commodore,  Mr.  Heuskin  and  Mr. 
Vanden  Heuvel,  with  the  band  and  our  servants,  com- 
posed the  party  in  the  steamer.  This  vessel  looked 
scarcely  more  than  a  toy,  and  not  competent  to  carry 
such  a  party  in  addition  to  the  natives  already  on  board. 
We  however  stowed  in  her  small  cabin  snugly,  the  band 
in  her  bows.  As  we  steamed  away  from  the  San  Jacinto, 
her  battery  poured  forth  a  salute  to  the  President's  letter, 
to  the  Consul  General,  to  the  Commodore,  or  all  together. 
The  band  struck  up  "  Hail  Columbia,"  which  was  changed 
into  "  God  Save  the  Queen"  as  we  passed  under  the  stern 
of  Her  Majesty's  brig  Saracen,  which  dipped  her  ensign 
in  acknowledgment  of  the  compliment.  On  our  way  in, 
we  passed  several  merchant  ships  at  anchor,  all  of  which 
wei'e  being  loaded  by  Mr.  King,  an  enterprising  Ameri- 
can merchant  of  Bangkok,  and  also  lines  of  fishing-stakes, 
around  which  were  Siamese  boats  recei\dng  the  gather- 
ings of  the  nets.  Li  about  two  hours  and  a  half  of  puffing 
and  paddling,  we  were  passing  between  the  low,  green, 
mangrove-covered  shores  which  form  the  mouth  of  the 
Menam,  the  muddy  waters  of  which  were  clouding  those 
of  the  gulf  some  miles  out.  On  our  left  lay  a  large 
Siamese  ship  which  had  missed  the  channel  and  run 
aground.  To  shun  such  accident  our  pilots  sounded  their 
way  with  bamboo  poles.     At  a  short  distance  above  the 


THE     WHITE     ELEPHANT     AT     HOME.        IGl 

mouth  of  the  river,  the  Siamese  flag  was  floating  from  a 
look-out  station.  This  flag,  nationally,  is  a  white  elephant 
upon  a  red  ground.  The  king's  individual  banner,  in 
yellow  upon  a  green  ground,  represents  the  throne  in  the 
centre,  between  two  of  what  are  called  the  royal  umbrel- 
las. There  are  from  five  to  nine  circles  supported  on  a 
stafi",  and  diminishing  in  size  upward.  These  wheels  are 
covered  with  embroidered  silk  or  gold  cloth,  which  hangs 
in  a  curtain  about  a  foot  deep  from  the  circumference  of 
each  circle.  About  four  miles  from  the  entrance  of  the 
Menam  is  the  town  of  Packnam,  and  as  we  drew  near  it 
long  lines  of  white  fortifications  were  seen  glittering  in 
the  sun,  and  through  their  embrasures  were  jutting  the 
muzzles  of  large-sized  cannon.  These  fortifications  are 
built  of  brick  and  white-washed.  Their  brilliant  whiteness 
was  strongly  contrasted  with  the  surrounding  and  equally 
brilliant  green  of  the  rich  and  heavy  vegetation. 

As  we  drew  near  the  landing,  our  band  crashing  forth 
its  loud  harmony,  it  was  difficult  to  look  at  any  thing  else 
than  the  mass  of  yellow-skinned  humanity  lying  crouched 
upon  the  banks,  watching  in  silent  interest  the  strangers 
who  had  come  fi-om  a  far  western  world  to  form  more 
extended  relations  with  them.  This  mutual  and  earnest 
gaze  of  Anglo-American  and  Siamese,  has  a  future  for 
both  people  beyond  the  curiosity  of  the  moment.  Our 
steamer  anchored  in  the  stream ;  and  a  boat,  with  a 
small  wooden  house  built  in  the  middle,  came  ofi*  to  us. 
In  the  house  was  an  officer  who,  from  his  glittering  cos- 
tume, might  be  one  of  importance.  He  was  a  sallow, 
old,  attenuated  creature,  dressed  in  a  caricature  of  Euro- 
pean military  costume,  bedizened  with  gold  and  silver 
tinsel,  with  epaulets  on  his  shoulders,  and  diamond- 
shaped  figures  of  ruby-colored  glass  set,  like  rows  of  but- 
tons on  each  side  of  the  breast  of  his  bright  silk  coat.  1 
am  amused  now  .at  the  stately  stiffiiess  with  which  we  all 


162  SIAM     AXD     THE     SIAMESE. 

sat  to  receive  poor  old  Gabrielle,  not  certain  which  was 
the  great  man,  whether  we  were  or  he  was.  This  mili- 
tary-looking gentleman  was  one  of  the  descendants  of 
the  early  and  proud  Portuguese  settlers.  They  still  call 
themselves  Christians,  and  attend  a  Catholic  chapel  which 
sometimes  flies  a  flag  with  the  words  "  Vivat  Jesus ;" 
but  they  have  assimilated  with  and  degenerated  below 
the  Siamese,  are  all  in  the  service  of  the  king,  although 
they  have  a  head  and  officers  of  their  own  to  administer 
their  affairs.  Our  visitor  was  next  to  the  chief  of  these 
Christians,  but  notwithstanding  this  high  jiosition,  and 
all  his  finery,  he  held  a  very  humble  Siamese  appoint- 
ment. He  came  aboard  as  a  messenger  on  the  part  of 
the  governor  of  Packnam,  to  tender  us  welcome,  and 
to  say  a  feast  was  prepared  for  us.  Afterwards,  in  our 
association  with  the  old  gentleman,  we  found  him  useful 
and  willing  in  any  humble  service.  The  Siamese  are  said 
to  have  some  wit,  and  I  could  almost  believe  there  was 
an  intention  of  satire  in  their  dressing  up  this  caricature 
of  a  man  in  such  a  caricature  of  our  costume,  epaulets 
and  all.  How  much  more  elegant  and  simple  to  their 
eyes  must  seem  the  amj^le  folds  of  rich  silks  around  the 
loins,  with  their  naked  busts  and  limbs ;  a  contrast  the 
more  marked,  when  he  was,  as  I  have  since  often  seen 
him,  crawling  in  all  his  silk  and  tinsel,  on  hands  and 
knees,  at  the  feet  of  some  half  naked  noble  ! 

Guided  by  this  gilded  Gabrielle,  we  landed  on  the  soil 
of  Siam.  A  guard  in  crimson  coats,  white  trowsers  and 
English  soldier  caps  was  drawn  up  in  two  lines  at  the  land- 
ing, and  as  we  passed  through  them  they  rolled  drums 
and  presented  arms  to  an  order  given  in  English.  We 
passed  on  a  short  distance  to  a  palm-leaf  and  bamboo 
building  open  at  all  sides,  the  roof  supported  on  posts  and 
ceiled  with  white  muslin.  The  floor  was  a  series  of  plat- 
forms rising  one  above  another,  so  that  the  inferior  ranks 


THE     WHITE     ELEPHANT     AT     HOilE.  1G3 

should  not  be  upon  a  level  with  the  higher.  In  the 
middle  of  the  highest  floor  a  dinner-table  was  set  out 
in  European  style — white  table-cloth,  napkins,  wine- 
glasses, porcelain  and  decanters  of  wines.  We  were  here 
received  by  two  of  our  first  acquaintances,  the  visitors  to 
the  ship,  the  stout,  good-looking  brother  of  the  Pra  Kalla- 
hone,  or  prime  minister,  and  Pra-nai-wai,  the  Pra  Kalla- 
hone's  son.  These  individuals  were  dressed  in  their  silken 
jackets,  were  attended  by  their  retinues,  and  the  bearers 
of  the  golden  vessels  belonging  to  their  rank.  There  being 
none  superior  to  them  here,  they  had  the  privilege  of 
sitting  upon  chairs,  although  afterwards  I  have  seen  these 
same  men  crouching  and  crawling  in  presence  of  their 
superiors.  The  dinner  was  immediately  served,  and  was 
very  abundant,  being  a  roast  pig,  boar's  head,  chickens, 
ducks,  various  curries,  shrimps  and  crabs.  There  was  a 
dessert  of  puddings,  preserves,  confectionery  and  oi'na- 
mental  cakes,  and  jellies  of  rice,  floui",  eggs  and  sugar. 
Fruits  followed  this,  of  which  there  were  a  great  vari- 
ety, the  best,  however,  being  the  mango.  Tea  and  coffee 
were  served,  and  cocoa-nut  milk  in  young  cocoa-nuts  from 
which  the  husk  had  been  stripped  and  the  top  cut  into  a 
circular  lid.  Dinner  was  prepared  for  the  marine  guard 
and  band  in  separate  sheds.  The  dishes  for  our  table  were 
kept,  until  placed  upon  it,  under  conical  covers  made  of 
some  light  frame-work  covered  with  red  cotton  cloth. 
These  covers  were,  I  afterwards  found,  in  very  general  use, 
being  on  sale  in  many  of  the  shops,  and  placed  on  the 
brass  trays  on  which  dishes  and  delicacies  were  sent  as 
presents.* 

It  was  expected  that  from  this  boat  we  would  go  up  the 
river  in  a  number  of  the  long  boats,  such  as  brought  in 

*  During  our  meal,  all  tho  dosceuding  platform  of  our  apartmont 
was  a  throng  of  Siamese  men,  women  and  children  sitting  on  tho  floor 
and  looking  silently  upon  us. 


164  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

the  guard  from  the  ship,  and  several  of  them  appeared  to 
be  gathered  at  Packnam  for  the  purpose  ;  but  we  had 
found  ourselves  so  comfortable  in  the  steamer,  that  we 
concluded  to  continue  in  her  to  Bangkok.  Taking  the 
marines  from  the  long  boat  into  the  steamer,  we  were  all 
again  under  way  about  three  o'clock,  leaving  Packnam 
•under  a  salute  from  the  battery.  Pra-nai-wai  saw  us  aboard, 
and  left  our  steamer  just  as  we  got  under  way.  We  had 
now  about  twenty-five  miles  to  go,  the  river  being  very 
tortuous  and  about  five  hundred  yards  in  width.  The 
banks  were  fringed  with  the  desert  jungle  vegetation. 
One  sjDecies  of  the  bamboo  grew  to  a  lofty  and  feathery 
tree.  Groves  of  various  j^alms  everywhere  drooped  their 
gracefully- curving  branches.  In  the  background  they 
crowned  the  top  of  the  tall  and  slender  areca-tree,  and 
close  along  the  water's  edge  a  dwarf  variety  shot  up 
clusters  of  leaves,  curving  like  plumes,  directly  from  the 
root.  As  we  ran  close  along  first  one  and  then  the  other 
bank  of  the  river,  we  saw  beneath  these  dark,  green 
groves,  and  lying  among  their  branches,  countless  men, 
women  and  children,  looking  like  river  animals  who  had 
crawled  upon  the  shore.  Through  openings  in  the  trees 
we  could  see  their  sharp-roofed  bamboo  and  palm-leaf 
huts,  built  up  five  or  six  feet  from  the  ground  on  poles, 
with  a  ladder  to  reach  the  door  ;  and  all  along  were  tied 
their  boats,  their  principal  and  almost  sole  means  of  pass- 
ing to  and  fro.  At  frequent  intervals  we  passed  narrow 
wharves  or  platforms  of  planks  pushing  through  the  trees 
to  the  river's  side,  and  these  were  crowded  with  boys  and 
men  with  shaved  heads,  and  yellow  cotton  mantles  over 
their  shoulders.  These  were  Buddhist  priests  and  no- 
vitiates belonging  to  some  wat  or  temple  planted  amid 
groves  in  the  background.  Occasionally  we  would  see 
several  of  the  neat-looking  salas,  an  open  hall  with  tiled 
roof  supported  on  white-washed  brick  and  stucco  pillars — 


THE     WHITE     ELEPHANT     AT     HOME.  105 

a  kind  of  garden  summer-house  for  shade  and  rest — which 
is  freely  planted  through  the  grounds  of  the  wats,  and 
give  them  a  pleasant  and  ornamental  appearance.  Our 
band  was  the  first  one  of  western  music  ever  heard  upon 
the  Menam,  and  as  we  jjassed  along  its  waters  our  ap- 
proach was  made  known  to  the  natives  by  the  notes  of  its 
bugles  and  drums,  sounding,  besides  our  national  au's, 
Gei-man  waltzes,  the  "  Old  Dog  Tray,"  "  Old  Folks  at 
Home,"  etc.,  etc. 

We  passed  in  the  river,  some  under  way  and  some  at 
anchor,  several  large  vessels,  barks,  and  ships,  which  had 
been  lightened  sufiiciently  to  go  over  the  bar.  Most  of 
them  bore  the  Siamese  flag,  but  one  fine  ship  carried  our 
own.  At  Packlat  we  passed  another  extensive  range  of 
fortifications,  similar  in  appearance  to  those  at  Packnam. 
Here  a  boat  came  alongside,  with  a  present  of  fruit  from 
the  governor.  It  was  all  sent  on  boai*d  in  trays  or  tables 
of  sheet-brass,  about  eighteen  inches  high,  and  two  feet 
diameter,  with  pedestals  of  the  same  metal  cut  into  open- 
work figures ;  a  narrow  border  of  similar  work  ran 
around  the  top.  A  great  quantity  of  the  smaller  fruits 
— lichis,  mangoes,  etc.,  were  sent  aboard  in  these 
trays,  besides  a  boat-load  of  water-melons  and  cocoa- 
nuts. 

At  a  point  on  the  river,  some  distance  above  Packlat, 
two  of  the  large  boats  w^e  had  seen  at  Packnam  came 
shooting  through  the  bushes  of  the  right  bank.  They 
had  by  a  canal,  accessible  only  to  such  boats,  cut  off  a 
large  curve  which  we  were  compelled  to  make,  and  they 
came  upon  the  river  with  loud  shouts  of  triumph  at  their 
success  in  overtaking  us. 

Day  was  just  closing  as  we  ran  alongside  the  bank  at 
the  lower  end  of  the  city.  Here  were  the  quarters  which 
the  king  had  caused  to  be  erected  for  us,  and  to  which  we 
were  welcomed  by  Mr.  King,  several  of  the  missionaries, 


166  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

and  Pra-iiai-wai  himself,  wlio  had  succeeded  in  reaching 
here  as  soon  as  wc. 

Our  quarters  were  a  collection  of  new-dried  palm-leaf 
and  ban\boo  houses,  inclosed  by  a  bamboo  fence,  with  a 
flag-staff  planted  in  front  of  the  gate.  The  whole  place 
was  lighted  up,  and  in  the  large  central  room  an  inviting- 
looking  table  was  set,  with  a  handsome  silver  and  porce- 
lain service,  and  just  the  number  of  plates  and  chairs  for 
our  party.  Before  the  dinper  or  supper  is  ready  we  shall 
have  time  to  look  round  the  premises.  The  main  building 
wa«  set  on  posts  ten  feet  high,  so  that  there  was  a  clear 
open  space  underneath,  giving  the  soldiers  and  men  a 
shady  retreat  during  the  heat  of  the  day.  This  buUding 
contained  one  large  central  dining  and  sitting-room,  with 
two  smaller  rooms  for  pantry,  servants,  and  stores  at  each 
end.  Outside  of  this,  at  the  back  and  one  end,  were  open 
galleries  or  passages,  along  which  were  ranged  the  sleep- 
ing apartments,  those  at  thet)ack  having  a  covered  hall  be- 
tween the  rooms  and  the  open  passage.  At  one  end  of  each 
passage  was  a  bath-room,  with  several  large  jars  of  water 
for  bathing,  according  to  the  method  of  this  country,  the 
water  being  poured  over  the  person,  and  running  througb 
the  planks  to  the  ground  beneath.  One  suite  of  sleeping 
apartments  was  divided  by  a  portable  Chinese  pai'tition 
of  carved  and  painted  wood  work.  The  other  rooms,  and 
all  the  remainder  of  the  building,  were  inclosed  and  divided 
by  dried  palm-leaves,  neatly  and  smootlily  laid  into  bam- 
boo frames.  The  roof  was  of  the  same  material,  and  the 
whistling  of  the  vnnd  through  the  dried  leaves  had  the 
sound  of  a  heavy  pouring  rain.*  There  was  not  a  nail  or 
piece  of  iron  in  the  whole  structure,  all  being  laid  up  by 
notching,  mortising,  and  lashing.     The  rain  poured   in 

*  The  windows  were  railed  with  light  bamboo  rods,  and  the  shutters 
of  close  palm-leaf  thatch,  swung  from  tlie  top,  and  opened  by  propping 
out  the  lower  end,  so  as  to  screen  against  sun  or  rain. 


THE     WHITE     ELEPHANT     AT     HOME.  167 

torrents  during  our  first  week,  and  yet  our  temporary 
home  was  quite  dry.  The  slender  stock  of  bedding  which 
we  had  brought  along,  in  case  of  necessity,  was  not  need- 
ed, for  every  room  was  supplied  with  a  high-posted  bed- 
stead, mattrass,  and  pillows,  and  hung  with  green  silk 
gauze  mosquito  curtains,  and  ornamented  with  two  slips 
of  silk  a  foot  wide,  one  blue,  one  crimson,  tacked  along 
the  edge  of  the  tester. 

There  was  a  separate  and  lower  building,  though  still 
elevated  from  the  ground,  for  the  marines  and  musicians, 
and  another  for  the  kitchen.  A  new,  light  mattrass,  made 
of  white  muslin,  with  red  edges,  filled  with  a  light  silk  cot- 
ton ;  a  mat,  mosquito  curtain,  and  pillow,  were  all  ready 
for  every  man  and  servant. 

All  the  cooks,  servants,  and  the  provisions  of  this  estab- 
lishment, together  with  three  boats,  with  from  twenty  to 
thu-ty  rowers,  or  rather  paddlers,  in  each,  were  furnished 
by  the  king.  And  the  expense  of  our  reception  and  en- 
tertainment must  have  more  than  equaled  the  value  of 
our  presents  to  the  king. 

On  the  morning  following  our  arrival  we  ran  the  Amer- 
ican flag  up  at  the  flag-staff,  played  "Hail  Columbia," 
"  Yankee  Doodle,"  the  "  Star-Spangled  Banner,"  and 
made  ourselves  at  home  in  Siam.  A  few  nails  knocked 
into  the  posts  of  my  room,  two  empty  packing-boxes 
tacked  over  with  brown  paper — one  for  a  table  and  one 
for  a  closet — made  my  room  quite  snug  and  comfortable. 

Now  we  may  look  about  us  and  catch  the  general  ap- 
pearance of  this  Bangkok — this  city  of  four  hundred  thou- 
sand Siamese  and  Chinese.  We  find  that  our  quarters 
ai'e  on  a  point  with  one  of  the  city  canals  running  close 
up  to  our  fence  on  the  right,  and  a  broad  ditch  bounding 
us  as  closely  upon  the  left,  while  back  of  us  is  a  closely- 
built,  confused  jumble  of  native  thatched  houses,  Avithout 
apparent  street,  lane,  or  alley  between  them.     So  that  by 


168  SIAM      AND      THE     SIAMESE. 

land  we  are  prisoners.  But  before  us  rolls  the  broad  Me- 
nam,  and  the  king,  as  stated,  has  placed  boats  and  men 
at  our  disposal.  Even  in  these  we  are  not  free.  In  the 
"land  of  the  free"  we  felt  at  once  the  hand  of  oriental 
despotism.  With  each  boat  is  an  obliging  individual  as 
director,  captain,  or  interpreter.  When  we  want  a  boat 
manned,  we  hint  it  to  him,  and  it  is  done.  These  men 
are  all  Portuguese,  speak  Portuguese,  some  Spanish,  and 
a  little  English.  Courteously,  they  are  our  interpreters 
and  guides ;  loyally,  they  are  close  spies  upon  all  our 
words  and  movements.  At  the  close  of  the  day  their 
rejioi-t  is  given  in  —the  places  and  the  persons  we  have 
visited,  our  gestures,  expressions,  mood,  tempers,  words, 
so  far  as  understood,  if  only  a  single  one  ;  and  I  am  told 
by  one  familiar  with  the  secrets  of  this  espionage,  that 
the  accuracy  Mith  which  character  and  the  tenor  of  con- 
versation will  be  inferred  from  such  fragmentary  reports, 
is  astonishing. 

But  we  are  all  now  in  a  good  humor ;  we  have  sights 
to  see,  are  not  in  the  spmt  of  treason,  and  may  furnish 
the  materials  of  a  report  favorable  to  ourselves  and  coun- 
try. Old  gilded  Gabrielle,  in  more  simple  attire,  is  our  guide 
for  the  day,  and  he  and  I  have  entered  into  such  pleasant 
relations,  that  he  has  begged  me  to  leave  him  my  old 
shoes  to  attend  mass  in,  and  I  have  bought  of  him  a  red 
flannel  chicken  cock,  made  by  a  female  of  his  household, 
at  three  times  its  value,  and  upon  which  the  custom-house 
appraisers  at  New  York,  not  appreciating  my  intentions 
to  favor  our  relations  with  the  Siamese,  made  me  pay  du- 
ties at  twice  its  cost.  Under  such  favorable  auspices,  we 
get  into  the  wooden  house  in  the  middle  of  the  boat,  draw 
up  the  curtains  which  shut  in  its  open  sides  and  back,  sit 
upon  the  Persian  rug  and  mat,  leaning  against  the  triang- 
ular morocco  cushions,  the  rows  of  half-naked  men  ranged 
along  each  side  of  the  boat  strike  their  paddles  into  the 


THE    WHITE    ELEPHANT    AT    HOME.  169 

"water,  and  with  animating  shouts  shoot  us  out  upon  the 
Menam,  These  loud  cries  are  the  peculiar  privilege  of 
persons  and  boats  of  consequence ;  and  when  the  king  is 
making  a  progress  on  the  water,  they  are  rung  out  in  the 
loudest  tones  from  his  boat. 

We  are  now  upon  the  UteraUy  Broadway  of  Bangkok. 
Instead  of  omnibuses,  horses  and  carriages,  it  is  thronged 
with  boats  of  various  forms  and  use.  Its  shops  are  Unes 
of  small  houses  of  wood,  with  palm-leaf  roofs  resting  on 
bamboo  rafts  or  floats,  all  along  each  bank,  rising  and 
falling  with  the  tide.  They  have  each  a  small  platform 
before  them,  and  the  whole  front  is  ojien,  exposing  the 
neatly  arranged  shelves  and  counters  of  goods — mostly 
from  China :  silks,  muslins,  chests  of  tea,  lacquered  ware  ; 
and  also  the  products  of  the  country :  ivory,  deer  horns, 
skeletons  and  skins  of  tigers  and  leopards,  snake  and 
shark  skins.  The  skeletons  and  the  snake  skins  are  ex- 
ported to  China  for  medical  uses.  Some  of  these  houses 
are  tin  and  leather  shops,  these  being  generally  combined ; 
some  are  eating-houses,  with  strings  of  peppers,  dressed 
poultry,  and  slices  of  fresh  pork  suspended  invitingly  in 
front.  Most  of  them  are  the  dwellings  as  well  as  busi- 
ness places  of  their  projirietors ;  some  are  solely  dwelhng 
houses ;  and  many  wealthy  persons  who  have  their  dwell- 
ings back  on  the  solid  ground,  have  a  floating  store  in 
front.  Canoes  and  boats  are  fastened  to  the  projecting 
platform ;  little  children  are  running  about  them,  or  playing 
on  their  very  edge,  and  almost  at  every  hour  some  mem- 
ber of  the  family  may  be  seen  taking  a  bath  by  dipping 
buckets  of  water  from  the  river  and  pouring  over  their 
persons  without  any  change  in  their  usual  attire. 

Beyond  these  river  houses,  and  a  confused  mingling  of 
tiled  roofs  just  on  the  shore  back  of  them,  we  see  very 
little  of  the  habitations  of  Bangkok,  as  they  are  hidden 
beneath  the  thick  groves  of  trees  and  shrubbery  covering 


170  SIAM     AND     TUE     SIAMESE. 

the  rich  alluvial  plain.  These  houses  are  generally  built 
on  posts,  and  arc  either  of  ata]),  the  palm-leaf,  or  of  wood 
framed  in  panels.  The  roofs,  either  palm-leaf  or  red  tiles, 
have  a  very  steep  pitch,  aud  their  edges  at  the  gables  are 
faced  with  plank,  meeting  in  a  sharp  peak  above.  These 
sharp  points  are  seen,  here  and  there,  sticking  above  the 
leaves.  Some  of  the  better  houses  are  built  of  brick, 
stuccoed  and  painted,  and  have  their  grounds  inclosed 
with  brick  and  plaster  walls.  Those  of  the  nobles  are 
generally  of  this  character,  as  are  also  the  dwellings  of 
the  wealthier  Chinamen.  In  every  direction  flag-staffs 
are  seen.  These  are  in  the  grounds  of  the  nobles,  each 
one  of  whom  flies  his  own  banner  and  devices. 

A  most  conspicuous,  indeed,  the  commanding  feature 
of  Bangkok,  is  the  roofs  of  the  wats,  and  their  graceful  pa- 
goda spires  or  pra-da-chis.  These  wats  are  surrounded  by 
grounds  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  acres,  through  which  are 
built  the  salas,  or  resting  places,  and  numerous  temples. 
The  roofs  of  these  temples  are  in  sight  on  both  sides  of 
the  river.  They  are  built  very  high,  the  ridge  being,  in 
some,  one  hundred  feet,  and  are,  in  most  instances,  a  suc- 
cession of  roofs,  three  or  four  in  number,  with  the  pitch 
of  the  legs  of  the  letter  A,  diminishing  in  size  both  from 
the  gables  and  the  eaves,  as  one  roof  rises  a  few  feet 
above  the  other.  Each  corner  of  each  roof  and  ridge  is 
surmounted  by  a  curving,  horn-shaped  projection.  The 
whole  are  covered  with  gold  and  green-colored,  glazed 
tiles.  One  roof  will  be  a  field  of  gold,  with  borders  of 
white  and  green ;  and  another,  a  green  field  with  golden 
borders ;  and  the  whole  of  the  gable  ends  or  fronts  of 
these  temples,  are  massively  gilded  over  figured  stucco 
work.  As  we  passed  the  grounds  of  one  of  these  tem- 
ples, the  many  white-columned  salas,  or  summer-houses, 
the  white,  needle-like  sjiires  of  the  pra-da-chis,  the  sur- 
roimding  flowers  and  shrubbery,  the  figured  and  gilded 


THE    WHITE    ELEPHANT    AT    HOilE.  171 

gable  fronts  of  both  the  salas  and  the  lofty  temples,  and 
bright  cornices  rising  one  above  another,  all  the  roofs  of 
green  and  gold  glittering  in  a  bright  sun,  presented  a  scene 
of  splendor  which  one  could  well  wish  was  the  proof  and 
the  product  of  a  national  elegance  and  prosperity,  rather 
than,  as  it  is,  the  result  of  an  absorbing  superstition.  Far 
up  the  river,  at  least  two  miles  from  our  quarters,  we  see 
the  lofty  pagoda  of  one  of  their  principal  wats  rising, 
not  with  a  needle  spire,  but  with  a  rounded  steeple  sum- 
mit, to  the  height  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  Such  is 
the  general  appearance  of  Bangkok,  as  we  see  it  from  the 
river. 

But  oux  most  animated  scene  is  on  the  river  itself  Ships 
and  junks  are  anchored  in  the  stream.  Some  of  these  junks 
are  enormous  masses  of  timber  of  a  thousand  tons  burden, 
and  almost  defy  description.  The  bottom  is  a  large  square 
scow,  upon  which  are  Jbuilt  sides  of  heavy  plank ;  the  bow 
end  of  each  side  is  rounded  oif  like  the  runners  of  a  boy's 
sled,  but  all  the  square  bow  is  open  to  the  winds,  the 
waves  and  the  water  gods,  for  whose  admission  it  is  left 
so ;  and  in  this  open  space  lies  the  anchor,  made  all  of 
wood  nearly  as  heavy  as  iron.  The  middle  of  the  sides  of 
this  craft  are  open  chasms,  down  ahnost  to  the  water  edge. 
Through  these  the  cargo  is  taken  in,  and  then  they  are 
closed  for  sea  by  gates  let  down  into  grooves.  The  stern 
is  built  up  into  platforms  of  cabins;  and  three  heavy, 
naked  sticks,  without  yards,  make  the  masts.  Every  junk 
has  its  joss-house,  or  temple,  and  each  with  a  lamp  steadily 
burning  to  make  ofierings  to  the  god.  The  whole  vessel 
glares  in  bright  paint  outside,  and  is  black  and  rank  with 
filth  inside.  The  sides  are  generally  bright  red,  with  two 
large  eyes  in  the  rounded  terminations  of  the  front.  The 
stern  Is  a  confused  mingling  of  dragons,  gods,  etc.,  in 
green,  yellow,  red  and   white  paint.     The  rudder  is  a 


172  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

heavy  mass  of  timber,  about  ten  feet  square,  and  swings 
in  a  Avide  opening  in  the  stern. 

The  junks  now  before  us  have  about  completed  their 
cargoes,  and  are  I'cady  for  the  south-west  monsoon,  which 
is  just  commencing.  As  they  can  sail  only  with  the  wind, 
of  course  they  make  but  one  voyage  a  year,  going  with 
one  monsoon  and  returning  with  the  other.  Sapan  wood 
seems  the  chief  cargo  of  the  junks  now  before  us,  and  it  is 
piled  up  in  every  part  of  the  vessel,  and  suspended  in  large 
bundles  over  the  sides. 

The  small  boats  crowding  the  river,  gliding  rapidly  with 
the  favoiing  tide,  or  struggling  against  it,  are  frail  tiny 
toy  and  graceful  canoes,  in  the  centre  of  which  sits  a  raan 
or  woman  bringing  the  boat  to  within  an  inch  of  the 
water,  and  requiring  a  lifetime  of  practice  to  keep  the 
thing  fi-om  ujisetting  or  fiUing.  But  this  lifetime  of  prac- 
tice they  aU  have,  for  we  see  in  some  of  these  canoes  a 
naked  child  or  children,  not  more  than  six  or  eight  years 
of  age.  Another  form  of  boat,  somewhat  larger,  may  be 
regarded  as  the  family  carriage  ;  the  front  and  bows  are 
open  for  from  one  to  two  paddles  in  each,  but  the  middle 
is  rounded  over,  and  completely  inclosed  by  a  basket 
work  of  wattled  bamboo,  painted  and  water-tight.  This 
basket  apartment  generally  accommodates  two  persons. 
The  after  part  is  permanently  closed  with  a  wooden  screen 
having  a  round  window  or  jiort  in  it,  and  the  front  has  a 
curtain  to  be  drawn  at  jjleasm'e. 

Large  boats  of  this  kind  are  the  dwelling  places  and 
shops  of  whole  families.  The  substitution,  for  the  matted 
cover,  of  a  small  wooden  house,  with  ojDcn-curtained  or 
Venetian-closed  sides,  makes  a  better  class  of  boat ;  and 
these  vary  in  size  from  two  to  four  paddles  of  plain  indi- 
viduals, up  to  the  large  and  noisy  crew  of  between  twenty 
and  thirty  of  the  state  and  aristocratic  boats,  such  as  are 
now  paddling  us  through  these  scenes  of  the  Menam.    In 


THE     WHITE     ELEPHANT     AT     HOJIE.  1*73 

the  larger  boats,  they  are  propelled  by  the  men  sitting 
along  each  side,  and  dipping  the  paddles  close  to  the  boat. 
Where  there  are  a  small  number  of  rowers,  a  compromise 
is,  made  between  a  jjaddle  and  an  oar.  A  short,  strong 
stafi",  about  eighteen  inches  high,  is  set  into  the  side  of  the 
boat,  and  the  oar  works  in  a  strong  cord  which  fastens  it 
to  the  top  of  this  staff.  The  oar  has  a  short  handle  on  its 
upper  end,  at  right  angles  to  its  length  ;  the  rowers,  gen- 
erally one  in  the  stern  and  one  in  the  bow  on  opposite 
sides,  standing  up  and  grasping  the  oars  with  their  left 
hands,  the  handle  with  then-  right,  propel  and  steer  the 
boat  at  the  same  time.  As  many,  if  not  more  females 
than  males,  exj^osing  the  whole  upper  part  of  the  person, 
are  seen  rowing  these  boats ;  and  often  two  females  will 
be  seen  laboring  in  the  sun  at  the  oar,  while  a  lazy  whelp 
of  a  Siamese  husband  is  lying  in  the  shade  of  the  covered 
part  of  the  boat.  We  have  passed  many  boats  of  the 
shape  of  half  an  egg,  divided  lengthwise  ;  two  Chinamen, 
one  in  the  bow  and  one  in  the  stern,  with  broad-rimmed, 
sharp,  conical-crowned  bamboo  hats,  are  paddling  it,  sit- 
ting with  their  legs  turned  under  them ;  and  between  the 
two  the  open  deck  is  piled  neatly  with  dry-goods,  kept  in 
place  by  boxes  of  ribbons,  needles  and  other  small  wares. 
Similar  boats  are  laden  with  crockery,  brass  and  tm  ware ; 
these  are  the  equivalents  for  the  peddlers'  wagons  of  the 
United  States — Chinese  peddling  boats.  Here  comes  a 
single  peddler,  seated  among  plates  and  pans,  with  a  small 
furnace,  stews  odorous  of  garlic  and  onions,  and  the  raw 
materia]  to  prepare  them — a  peddling  cook  shop.  Now  a 
much  neater  boat  is  approaching  us,  of  which  the  sole  oc- 
cupant and  proprietor  is  a  woman.  In  front,  laid  up  in 
neat  circles,  are  piles  of  fresh  green  leaves,  and  behind 
them  are  large  jars  filled  up  with  beautiful  pink  pasty 
masses  looking  like  strawberry  ice-cream.  She  is  a  vend- 
or of  the  cirrhi,  or  pepper  leaves,  and  the  colored  limo 


174  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

for  smearing  them  with,  as  they  are  rolled  around  the 
betel-nut  for  chewing.  Now  we  are  passing  by  a  line  of 
large  basket-covered  boats  fastened  close  to  the  shore,  in 
the  front  of  which  arc  exposed  for  sale,  vessels  of  eggs, 
onions,  strings  of  pod  pepjicr,  beeswax,  etc. ;  small  gro- 
cery stores,  with  the  family  living  under  the  basket  roof; 
and  many  canoes  are  passing  about  with  covered  jars  in 
them,  the  paddler,  woman  or  boy,  crying  out,  in  monot- 
onous tones,  the  articles  for  sale. 

In  such  a  crowded  and  busy  thoroughfare,  there  seems 
to  be  but  one  law  of  the  road,  and  that  is,  that  the  smaller 
boats  must  keep  out  of  the  way  of  the  larger  ones,  or  take 
the  consequences.  If  a  woman  with  all  her  stock  in  trade 
is  upset,  no  one  takes  any  notice  of  her,  but  all  leave  her 
to  right  her  boat  and  look  out  for  herself;  and  the  very 
boat  in  which  we  are  making  this  excursion,  ran  into  and 
upset  a  canoe  in  which  were  two  small  boys ;  passing  on 
without  the  least  attention  to  the  accident.  I  looked 
back,  and  was  glad  to  see  that  one  had  reached  the  plat- 
form of  a  floating  house  near  by,  and  the  other  was 
quietly  swimming,  laughing  and  pushing  his  canoe  before 
him.  Siamese  are  at  home  in  the  water,  and  scarcely  ever 
drown. 

One  of  the  preliminary  steps  of  the  negotiations  to  be 
carried  on,  was  calhng  upon  some  of  the  principal  and 
most  influential  nobles.  Accordingly,  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  second  day  of  our  arrival,  Mr.  Harris,  accompanied  by 
Mr.  Mattoon,  and  two  or  three  other  officers  and  myself, 
proceeded  to  the  house  of  the  Grand  Prah  Klan,  or  min- 
ister of  foreign  affairs. 

The  entrance  to  his  house  was  through  a  heavy  gate- 
way to  an  open  marble-paved  court,  ornamented  with 
stucco  figures  of  men  and  animals  carved  in  stone,  with  a 
few  vases  of  flowers  and  shrubs.  From  this  we  passed 
into  the  house,  the  front  of  which,  supported  on  pillars, 


THE     WHITE     ELEPHANT     AT     HOME.        175 

was  open  to  the  court.  The  floors  rose  in  the  usual 
ascending  platforms,  and  en  the  highest,  which  was  car- 
peted, were  two  rows  of  chairs  for  twelve  persons  facing- 
each  other;  at  the  upper  end  of  the  chairs  a  table  and 
seat,  or  divan  behind  it.  The  more  domestic  or  private 
parts  of  the  house  were  behind  this  reception  room,  the 
openings  to  it  screened  by  curtains,  common  engravings 
and  mirrors. 

The  Prah  Elan,  about  forty  years  of  age,  was  a  heavy, 
solid,  sober-faced  man,  dressed  in  a  blue  figured  silk  man- 
tle, fastened  around  the  waist  by  a  yellow  silk  sash,  and 
received  us  in  an  easy  and  dignified  manner,  but  seemed 
disappointed  that  a  larger  number  of  officers  had  not 
come,  and  immediately  inquired  the  reason.  He  signed 
us  to  the  chairs,  and  took  his  seat  on  the  divan.  His 
subordinates  and  retainers  were  lying  around,  crouched 
upon  the  flooi',  and  just  olf  from  one  side,  on  his  knees, 
was  a  man  with  a  large  feather  fan  at  the  end  of  a  long 
handle ;  this  he  would  bring  down  slowly  towards  his 
master,  and  then  make  a  sudden  dash,  as  if  casting  a 
current  of  air  upon  him,  which  is  the  true  principle  of 
fanninsT,  instead  of  continuous  uniform  motions. 

After  a  few  common-places  of  opening  conversation,  he 
at  once  entered  upon  the  subject  of  the  treaty,  and  said, 
*' There  would  be  no  difficulty  in  regard  to  it." 

The  commissioner  said  he  thought  there  could  be 
none,  as  the  British  treaty  of  Sir  John  Bo^vring  would  be 
the  basis. 

"  No  more  than  that  yielded  could  be  granted,"  re- 
phed  the  Prah  Klan,  adding,  with  a  faint  smile, 

"  Tiie  boat  was  already  full,  pressed  to  the  water's  edge, 
and  would  bear  no  more." 

The  commissioner  commented  upon  the  good  feeling 
of  the  United  States'  goA'crnmcnt  towards  them,  and  its 
general  desire  for  justice  and  relations  mutually  beneficial. 


176  SIAM     AND     TUE     SIAMESE. 

The  Prah  Klan  was  well  convinced  of  all  this  himself, 
but  was  not  sure  that  the  Siamese  people  understood  it, 
and  the  responsibility  of  treaties,  was  from  the  fact  that 
their  own  people  might  break  them. 

The  commissioner  thought  that  judicious  negotiations 
upon  the  jiavt  of  each  nation  could  readily  aiTange  any 
threatening  difficulty. 

"  Such,"  said  the  Prah  Klan,  "  is  our  confidence  in  the 
justice  and  good  disposition  of  the  American  govern- 
ment, that  we  would  like  to  have  an  article  in  the  treaty 
providing,  that  in  case  of  any  trouble  with  any  western 
power  (England  or  France,)  the  United  States  would  act 
as  mnpire." 

The  commissioner  thanked  him  for  the  compliment, 
and  assured  him  no  such  provision  would  be  necessary, 
as  the  United  States  felt  it  an  obligation  of  friendship  to 
comjjly  with  any  such  request.  The  Prah  Klan  looked  a 
little  disappointed,  but  did  not  again  allude  to  the  sub- 
ject. Upon  our  arrival  here  annoying  reports  had  reached 
us,  that  the  Siamese  government,  in  consequence  of  our 
not  representing  a  crowned  head,  had  determined  not  to 
receive  our  embassy  ■with  the  same  honors  as  had  been 
extended  to  Sir  John  Bowriug,  and  as  would  be  awarded 
the  daily  expected  mission  from  the  Emperor  of  France  ; 
and  that  the  king,  mstead  of  receiving  the  President's 
letter  personally  from  the  hands  of  the  commissioner, 
would  only  receive  it  through  a  subordinate  officer. 

I  suspect  that  these  views  had  more  ground  than  mere 
rumor,  and  were  put  forth  as  feelers  as  to  our  temper  in 
the  matter.  Mr.  Harris  had  determined  firmly  to  re- 
sist any  such  indignities,  and  any  humihating  forms  in  a 
public  audience.  It  was  therefore  very  satisfactory  to 
hear  the  Prah  Klan  voluntarily  allude  to  this  subject,  and 
say  that  our  formal  reception  was  to  be  the  same  as  that 
given  the  English,  and  the  President's  letter  to  be  re- 


THE     WniTB     ELEPHANT     AT     HOME.  177 

ceived  directly  by  the  king  from  the  hands  of  the  com- 
missioner. He  suggested  that  Mr.  Harris  draw  up  his 
views  in  advance  of  a  puWic  audience,  so  that  they  taight 
be  under  consideration. 

Tea  was  served  us  out  of  a  goklen  tea-pot  iu  delicate 
porcelain  cups,  and  cigars  from  a  golden  salver.  From 
these  nobles  we  went  to  the  house  of  the  king's  brother, 
the  Prince  Kroma  Lnang  Wongsa,  the  medical  prince  to 
whom  I  had  addi-essed  a  note,  on  the  part  of  the  New  York 
Academy  of  Medicine,  respecting  his  diploma.  He  was 
now  residing  in  the  old  palace  which  had  been  buUt  after 
the  removal  of  the  seat  of  government  from  Yuthia  to 
Bangkok.  Prince  Wongsa  was  a  short  and  very  fat  man, 
with  a  broad,  benevolent  and  somewhat  jocular  face, 
though  at  the  time  of  our  call  the  expression  was  rather 
sad.  He  wore  a  simple  grass-cloth  jacket,  fastened  with 
golden  filagree  buttons.  He  received  us  very  cordially, 
held  me  by  the  hand,  while  he  inquired  if  I  was  the  per- 
son who  had  written  him,  and  thea-  gave  me  an  embrace 
of  professional  fraternity,  which  edified  me  very  much,  as 
he  was  the  only  royal  doctor  I  have  ever  seen.  He  ex- 
hibited the  most  friendly  disposition  towards  our  mis- 
sion, and  made  many  kind  suggestions,  such  as,  being 
sti'angers,  we  might  not  know  what  nobles  to  call  on,  and 
therefore  might  unintentionally  give  some  offense.  He 
suggested  that  Mr.  Harris  had  better  address  a  note  to 
the  prime  minister,  asking  him  to  designate  who  were  to 
be  waited  on,  and  then,  if  any  were  neglected,  the  re- 
sponsibility would  be  the  king's  and  not  ours. 

Coffee  was  served  in  delicate  French  china.  He  asked 
if  we  would  have  any  thing  stronger,  and  when  we  de- 
clined, he  said,  "  Do  as  you  like;  I  can  not  drink  wine 
myself,  but  of  late  have  felt  forced  to  make  the  effort." 
During  our  conversation,  a  very  fine  boy  of  six  years  old, 
his  youngest  and  favorite  child,  was  playing  aroimd  his 

8* 


178  SI  AM    AND    THE    SI  AM  ESE. 

knees  ■with  more  freedom  than  is  usuah  The  retainers 
"were  lying  cronehod  on  the  floor.  The  boy  was  deco- 
rated -with  golden  chains,  bracelets  and  anklets  ;  his  hair 
done  up  in  a  knot  fastened  with  a  golden  arrow.  Prince 
Wongsa  hoi)ed  we  would  visit  him  often  and  freely.  If 
apprised  of  our  coming,  he  would  receive  us  in  state ; 
but,  for  himself,  he  much  preferred  to  see  us  freely  and 
privately  ;  he  had  become  wearied  of  ceremony  and  state. 
I  remarked  that  "  I  should  claim  the  freedom  of  a  profes- 
sional brother,"  "  It  was  a  great  gratification,"  he  said, 
"to  see  me.  The  diploma  sent  him  had  been  injured 
in  framing,  and  he  hoped  I  could  have  it  replaced ; 
though  smce  he  had  been  in  a  political  position,  busi- 
ness had  so  crowded  upon  him  that  he  did  not  practice, 
except  in  the  royal  family."  He  requested  me  to  come 
down  and  have  a  talk  with  him  respecting  a  brother  then 
lying  vmder  paralysis  ;  and  asked  me  to  let  him  have,  if 
possible,  a  few  cups,  and  another  surgical  instrument. 

The  prince  asked  Mr.  Harris  if  he  could  let  him  have  a 
copy  of  his  credentials,  and  also  of  the  address  to  be  de- 
livered at  the  public  audience.  We  took  leave  of  the  old 
gentleman,  I  trust,  with  feeUngs  of  mutual  regard  and  ad- 
miration. 

These  two  visits  had  carried  us  well  into  the  evening, 
but  the  Pra  Kallahone,  or  prime  minister,  was  expect- 
ing us.  To  reach  his  house  we  tui'ned  from  the  Menam 
into  what  in  the  dark  appeared  a  labyrinthine  canal,  and 
pushed  our  way  among  what  seemed  a  maze  of  boats.  A 
blaze  of  torches  of  a  fragrant  gum  resin  lighted  us  into 
the  large  and  richly  ornamented  marble-paved  court. 
This  palace  of  the  prime  minister  is  a  large,  new  and 
truly  elegant  building.  The  audience  room,  of  ascending 
floors,  must  have  been  near  one  hundred  feet  deep.  It 
was  handsomely  finished  with  carving  and  gilding,  the 
upper  part  of  the  walls  being  of  open  ornamental  work, 


THE  WHITE  ELEPHa:N^T  AT  HOME.    1*79 

giving  free  ventilation  to  the  adjoining  apartments.  A 
decorated  iDartition  separated  this  large  hall  from  one  of 
equal  length  back  of  it ;  but  the  whole  length  of  both 
apartments  was  exposed  to  view  by  an  oval  opening  in 
the  i:)artition,  looking,  with  its  border  of  carved  wood 
work,  at  the  first  glance,  like  an  immense  oval  mirror. 
In  front  of  this  opening  was  placed  the  divan,  and  im- 
mediately back  of  it  a  silken  lounge,  so  as  to  catch  any 
air  which  might  be  passing  through  these  capacious 
apartments.  Through  all  their  length  a  row  of  glass 
shade  lamps  was  susiDended  from  the  ceiling,  and  lighted 
up. 

The  Pra  Kallahone,  it  will  be  remembered,  is  our  first 
acquaintance,  having  visited  us  on  ship-board.  His  small 
and  light  figure  was  enveloj)ed  in  a  yellow  silk  robe.  He 
came  forward  gracefully,  and  taking  Mr.  Harris  by  the 
hand,  led  him  to  a  chair,  inviting  us,  at  the  same  time,  to 
be  seated,  placing  himself  in  a  large  arm-chair.  The  prime 
minister  has  the  reputation,  on  all  hands,  of  being  the  ablest 
man  in  the  kingdom ;  and  the  impression  of  ability  is  given 
by  his  high  and  broad  forehead,  and  melancholy,  thought- 
ful countenance.  The  horrible  black  teeth,  and  filthy  betel- 
nut  chewing  in  universal  use,  diminished  very  much,  at 
first,  the  agreeable  impression  made  upon  us  by  such  men. 
The  prime  minister  was  the  intimate  friend  of  the  present 
king  before  he  reached  the  throne.  They  were  supposed 
to  represent  "  Young  Siam,"  or  a  party  of  progress,  and 
great  expectations  were  held  as  to  their  joint  influence  in 
the  advance  of  their  country.  Since  reaching  the  mon- 
archy, the  king  has  not  shown  himself  such  a  progressive, 
and  is  supposed  to  entertain  some  jealousy  of  the  prime 
minister's  influence  and  abilities, 

Pra-nai-wai,  his  son,  was  present,  but,  like  the  other  de- 
pendents, lying  crouched  on  the  floor,  and  would  not  rise 
off  his  knees  as  we  spoke  to  him. 


180  THE    VOYAGE     OUT. 

Tlie  Pra  Kallalione  iuvited  free  conversation  upon  the 
treaty,  altliougli  bo  was  by  no  means  well. 

Some  allusion  of  a  general  cbaracter  was  made  to  the 
increased  wealth  and  prosperity  which  would  accrue  to 
Siam  from  these  treaties  with  western  nations. 

The  Pra  Kallahone  replied  that  his  earnest  desire  was 
for  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  the  people,  but  with 
them  there  was  nothing  to  secure  permanency.  They  had 
no  Congress,  no  Parliament.  The  accidental  disposition 
and  intelligence  of  the  monarch  controlled  every  thing,  and 
kings,  in  a  few  generations,  forgot  that  they  sjjrimg  from 
the  people,  and  lost  all  sympathy  with  them.  It  was  es- 
sential to  the  prosperity  of  a  nation  that  it  should  have 
fixed  laws,  and  that  the  nobles  should  be  restrained  from 
oppressing  the  people,  otherwise  the  latter  were  hke 
chickens  who,  instead  of  being  kept  for  their  eggs,  were 
kiUed  off. 

The  commissioner  again  remarked  upon  the  many  ad- 
vantages of  our  treaty  alUance. 

The  Pra  Kallahone  spoke  in  a  low,  but  clear  and  mu- 
sical voice,  and  raising  his  hands  gracefully  to  the  shade 
lamp  hanging  overhead,  he  said,  "  Treaties  are  like  that 
glass,  beautiful  and  useful  while  whole,  but  requiring  great 
and  constant  care  to  keep  them  from  being  broken." 

He  then,  as  the  Prah  Klan  had  done,  spoke  of  their 
confidence  in  our  country,  and  repeated  the  request  to 
insert  an  article  in  the  treaty,  making  us  the  umjnre  in 
case  of  difficulty  with  the  other  western  powers.  Mr. 
Harris  rephed  as  he  had  done  to  the  Prah  Klan,  re- 
specting our  general  obligation  to  prevent  difficulty. 

The  Pra  Kallahone  said  something  more  specific  was 
needed :  that  if  a  misunderstanding  were  to  arise  between 
the  governments  of  Siam,  and  England  or  France,  the 
United  States  Consul  might,  while  it  was  a  small  mat- 
ter, interfere  so  as  to  prevent  its  becoming  a  greater ;  but 


THE     WHITE     ELEPHANT     AT     HOME.       181 

if  there  was  no  obligation  upon  liim  to  do  so,  he  woiild 
naturally  say,  "  It 's  none  of  my  business,"  and  the  trouble 
would  increase. 

Mr.  Harris  said  that  no  United  States  Consul  could, 
consistently  with  his  duty,  refuse  his  friendly  offices  to 
prevent  national  difficulties. 

The  i^rime  minister  said  no  more  upon  the  subject,  but 
asked  Mr.  Harris  to  draw  uj)  the  treaty. 

A  conversation  then  took  place  respecting  the  various 
natural  products  of  the  country,  and  Mr,  Harris  very  ju- 
diciously directed  the  conversation  so  as  to  show  how  the 
product,  the  commerce  in,  and  the  revenue  from,  these 
articles  might  be  greatly  increased,  and  the  advantage 
of  throwing  the  mines  open  to  any  who  would  work  them 
and  pay  ten  per  cent,  of  the  product  into  the  treasury. 
The  Pra  Kallahone  seemed  to  imdei'stand  and  assent  to 
all  this,  as  though  it  were  already  familiar  to  his  mind, 
and  suggested  that  an  article  be  added  to  the  treaty, 
oiJening  the  mines  upon  the  payment   of  ten  per  cent. 

Mr.  Harris  suggested  the  advantage  they  would  have 
from  theii*  young  men  traveling  in  Europe  and  America. 

The  Pra  Kallahone  thought  it  would  be  of  little  use 
unless  they  were  men  of  ability,  and  these  were  very 
scarce.  He  requested  my  advice  resi^ecting  an  inflam- 
mation of  his  mouth,  and  as  we  had  expressed  our  admi- 
ration of  his  palace,  he  invited  us  to  walk  through  it.  On 
each  side  of  the  large  room  back  of  the  audience  hall 
were  passages  leading  to  the  sleeping  apartments;  all 
was  new,  clean,  and  neatly  matted.  At  the  lower  end 
of  the  range  of  rooms  was  his  own  chamber,  in  which 
was  a  high-post  gilded  bedstead,  with  crimson  silk  cur- 
tains. Aroimd  this  palace,  within  its  inclosurcs,  were 
settled  a  village  of  retaiiiers,  a  thousand  or  more  in 
all. 

A  hundred  servants,  at  least,  are  in  the  household  of 


182  THE     VOYAGE     OUT. 

each  of  tliese  nobles,  aiicl  seldom  less  than  thirty  attend 
them  when  goino-  out. 

Immediately  after  breakfast,  on  the  following  morning, 
our  quarters  were  visited  by  the  fat,  good-tempered,  but 
shrewd  and  intelligent  Prince  Wongsa,  and  a  crowd  of 
his  retainers  in  his  train.  Soon  after  taking  his  chair,  he 
seemed  to  be  so  annoyed  by  the  heat  that  he  threw  off 
his  grass-cloth  jacket,  leaving  his  broad  person  entirely 
naked  down  to  the  loins.  He  had  scarcely  more  than 
taken  his  seat,  when  the  Grand  Pra  Kallahone  came  in 
without  any  other  dress  than  the  sarong. 

They  had  come  to  return  our  visit,  and  to  say  that  the 
public  reception,  or  audience,  was  fixed  for  the  tenth  of 
M-aning  moon,  being,  according  to  our  reckoning,  Wednes- 
day, the  30th  of  April.  The  names  of  the  nobles,  upon 
whom  we  were  to  call,  were  also  announced,  and  the  style 
of  our  calling  suggested — the  marine  guai*d  and  band 
being  to  accompany  us.  Prince  "Wongsa  expressed  a  wish 
to  hear  the  band,  and  preferred  to  have  it  ujd  in  the  room 
where  we  were.  The  crash  of  "  Hail  Columbia,"  "  The 
Star  Spangled  Banner,"  and  "  Yankee  Doodle,"  on  base 
di'um,  drum  and  fife,  with  horns  in  proportion,  was  tre- 
mendous. The  Pra-nai-wai  came  crawling  in,  but  we 
rose,  and,  shaking  him  by  the  hand,  insisted  upon  his 
taking  a  chair.  He  seemed  very  reluctant  to  do  so  in  the 
presence  of  his  father  and  of  royalty,  and  looked,  all  the 
time  he  was  sitting,  as  if  conscious  of  an  offense  or  imjjro- 
priety. 

Just  before  the  entrance  of  his  son,  the  Pra  Kallahone 
had  inquired  which  Avas  the  Engineer.  Mr.  Isherwood 
being  pointed  out  to  him,  was  at  once  asked  if  he  under- 
stood machinery. 

"  I  do." 

"I  would  be  glad  to  have  you  visit  me,  and  look  at 
mine." 


THE     WHITE     ELEPHAKT     AT     HOME.  183 

"  At  any  time  when  his  excellency  will  send  for  me,  I 
am  at  his  service." 

Mr.  Isherwood  remarked  how  much  Prince  Wongsa 
resembled  the  Bourbons, 

The  prince  laughed,  and  said,  "  I  believe  they  were 
driven  from  the  throne." 

Mr.  Isherwood. — "  But  the  one  you  most  resemble  died 
on  the  throne." 

The  prince  arranged  with  me  for  visiting  him  to-night, 
for  a  consultation  res^iecting  his  palsied  brother,  if  Mr. 
Mattoon  were  sufficiently  disengaged  to  accompany  me. 

In  the  evening,  Commodore  Armstrong,  Dr.  Daniel, 
and  myself  went  uj)  to  the  prince's.  We  found  there 
Mr.  Parkes  and  several  officers  of  the  Auckland.  The 
prince  was  in  a  more  cheerful  and  jocular  mood  than  I 
had  yet  seen  him  in.  The  lady  of  Mr.  Parkes  had  been 
making  a  visit  to  the  wives  of  the  king,  and  the  prince 
wanted  to  know  what  she  thought  of  them,  saying,  that 
she  had  seen  more  than  he  ever  had,  as  he  never  saw 
but  two  of  the  king's  wives. 

Mr.  Parkes,  laughingly,  remarked  :  "  I  do  n't  know 
what  right  you  had  to  see  even  that  many." 

"  I  will  account  for  it  satisfactorily,"  replied  Prince 
Wongsa ;  "  one  I  saw  professionally,  and  the  other  is  a 
relative." 

Immediately  after  the  dci^arture  of  the  English  gentle- 
men, the  prince  invited  us  to  walk  up  stairs  to  his  private 
room.  It  was  quite  an  armory.  At  each  end,  rifles  and 
other  fire-arnis  were  susj)ended,  one  above  another,  against 
the  wall.  We  had  a  long  talk  about  the  condition  of  his 
brother,  and  the  only  conclusion  to  which  we  came  was 
that  he  must  die  in  a  day  or  two,  which  he  did.  He  said 
he  had  exhausted  his  own  medical  resources,  but  such 
were  the  prejudices  of  the  Siamese,  he  dare  not  call  in 
another  foreign  physician.    The  Surgeon  of  the  Auckland 


184  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

had  seen  liiin,  but  found  great  difficulty  in  procuring  the 
obsen^ance  ot"  his  prescrij)tions. 

We  remained  chatting  with  the  prince  until  a  late  hour, 
and  as  we  returned  down  the  river,  against  a  strong  flood 
tide,  the  lights  had  disappeared  from  the  fronts  of  the 
floating  houses,  and  our  way  was  in  darkness ;  but  a 
beautiful  appearance  Avas  seen  on  the  river  bank,  the  fire- 
flies, instead  of  being  difl"used  through  an-,  were  gathered 
around  certain  trees,  and  the  whole  assemblage,  from 
lower  branches  to  summit,  would  flash  out  simultaneously 
like  ghttei-ing  diamonds,  taking  the  form  of  the  tree. 
Opposite  to  our  quarters  was  a  tree  which  gave  the  fan- 
tastic form  of  a  dancing  harlequin,  alternately  flashing 
into  brilliancy  and  sinking  into  darkness. 

On  the  next  day  after  this,  being  April  25,  the  com- 
missioner, accompanied  by  the  Commodore  and  the  entire 
suite,  with  the  band,  proceeded  to  make  the  calls  upon 
the  nobles,  as  suggested  the  day  before. 

We  started  up  the  river  in  four  boats,  and  had  got  but 
httle  way  when  we  met  a  procession  of  large  state  boats 
coming  down.  These  boats  had  crimson  and  gilded  cano- 
pies and  hangings ;  in  one  was  a  Siamese  band,  and  all 
were  propelled  by  men  in  crimson  caps  and  jackets.  The 
procession  moved  slowly  to  the  sound  of  funeral  music, 
and  was  on  its  way  to  cast  into  the  river  the  fetid  fluids 
of  a  deceased  noble  of  whose  burning  we  had  the  day 
before  breathed  the  smoke. 

Ul^on  the  death  of  any  one  of  rank,  the  body  is  closely 
wrapped  and  pressed  with  bandages  so  as  to  expel  the 
fluids  from  it.  It  is  then  placed  in  a  vessel  in  an  apart- 
ment of  the  dweUing.  From  this  vessel  a  tube  passes 
through  the  roof,  so  as  to  carry  off  all  exhalations ;  an- 
other tube  passes  from  the  bottom  to  a  jar  for  receiving 
the  fluids.  In  this  condition  the  body  remains  for  many 
months,  when  it  is  burned  with  much  ceremony  upon  a 


SIAMESE    AND     CHRISTIAN     NOBLES.        185 

platform  of  damp  clay,  and  the  collected  ashes  are  molded 
into  a  small  idol,  and  gUded  for  future  preservation  and 
reverence.  The  collected  fluids  are  carried  in  great  state 
down  the  river  and  cast  into  it. 

The  burning  of  a  noble  had  taken  place  a  day  or  two 
ago,  and  we  would  have  been  very  glad  to  have  witnessed 
it,  but  it  was  intimated  that  the  king  was  to  be  jiresent, 
and  our  presence,  before  our  reception,  would  not  be 
proper.  On  the  following  day,  being  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  wat  where  the  burning  had  taken  place,  I  "was  en- 
veloped in  a  cloud  of  smoke  still  coming  from  the  funeral 
pyre. 

XVI. 

SIAMESE   AND  CHRISTIAN  NOBLES. 

Our  first  visit  was  to  the  somdecht,  an  aged  noble,  the, 
uncle  of  the  minister  of  foreign  afiairs  and  of  the  prime 
minister.  He  is  said  to  head  the  party  of  "  Old  Siam," 
especially  opposed  to  reform  and  progress,  and  keeps  him- 
self very  much  aloof  from  strangers.  He  is  the  individual 
who  defeated  Mr.  Balestiere's  attemjDt  to  form  a  treaty. 
The  somdecht  is  one  of  the  highest  titles  of  nobility,  being 
a  royal  designation.  It  was  given  to  this  old  gentleman 
and  a  brother  now  dead,  as  a  retiring  honor,  to  brmg  on 
their  sons  to  their  active  i^laces  and  offices.  We  found 
him  seated  upon  a  carved  and  gilded  divan,  wearing  only 
a  sarong  of  changeable  silk.  It  is  somewhat  remarkable 
that  notwithstanding  the  scant  attire  used  by  the  Siam- 
ese, they  exhibit  the  best  taste  in  the  materials  and  colors 
of  what  they  do  wear.  I  was  told  by  a  lady  that  some 
one,  attributing  to  them  a  barbarian  taste  for  tawdry  ma- 
terials of  ghttering  colors,  had  brought  in  a  lot  of  such 
goods  for  sale,  but  the  Siamese  rejected  them  as  vulgar. 


186  SIAM     AND    THE     SIAMESE. 

The  table  along  which  we  were  seated  was  furnished  with 
sLxtcon  golden  and  jeweled  vessels,  betel-nut-boxes,  tea- 
pot, water  vessels,  etc.  The  old  gentleman  had  an  aifablc 
and  pleasant  ex})rcssion,  but  at  the  same  time  one  of  great 
penetration  and  sagacity.  I  obsei-ved  a  habit  of  watching 
intently  any  one  speaking,  vntli  his  black,  bright  eyes  half 
closed,  as  if  wishing  to  conceal  the  earnestness  of  his  gaze. 
He  at  once  expressed  a  wish  to  hear  the  music  of  our 
band,  and  when  it  had  finished,  directed  bis  o^vn  to  play. 
It  contained  about  ten  instruments,  the  principal  of  which 
were  gongs,  or  cymbals,  of  difierent  sizes,  with  an  elevated 
centre,  arranged  on  cords  ia  a  circle,  in  the  middle  of 
which  was  the  player,  who  struck  the  cymbals  with  a 
cushioned  hammer.  Another  frequent  instrument  is  a 
series  of  metal  or  bamboo  bars,  laid  on  cords  suspended 
over  a  hollow  log,  generally  of  the  shape  of  a  boat.  These 
are  sounded  similarly  to  the  former,  and  the  ringing, 
musical,  metallic  sound  of  the  bamboo  bars  is  surprising. 
During  the  whole  of  our  visit,  a  number  of  the  females 
and  children  of  the  harem,  the  former  wearing  yellow  silk 
scarfs  crossing  their  breasts,  and  the  latter  golden  chains 
and  bracelets,  were  seated  or  crawling  over  the  floor  of  a 
raised  apartment  back  of  us,  and  just  seen  over  a  balus- 
trade which  separated  them  from  us.  Some  of  these  fe- 
males were  handsomer  than  any  I  have  yet  seen  in  Bang- 
kok. But  when  they  opened  their  mouths,  exposing  the 
rough,  black  teeth,  no  semblance  of  beauty  remained. 
The  band,  crouching  on  the  floor  before  us,  having  finished 
its  performance,  the  somdecht  waved  his  hand  toward  the 
apartment  behind  us,  and  immediately  a  large  band  of 
female  musicians,  concealed  by  a  light  screen,  struck  up 
their  tinkling  notes.  The  music  and  the  airs  were  very 
harmonious  to  my  ear,  the  music  resembling  that  of  a 
piano  combined  with  the  tinklmg  of  bells.  A  refined  and 
elearant  entertainment  was  served  us.      An  ornamental 


SIAMESE     AND     CHRISTIAN     NOBLES.        187 

golden  stand,  of  the  size  of  a  small  table,  was  placed  on 
the  table  before  each  two  officers,  and  upon  each  of  these 
stands  were  four  smaller  ones  of  enameled  gold,  contain- 
ing confectioneiy,  preserves  and  fresh  fruits,  the  fi'uits, 
where  they  required  peeling,  being  prepared  and  arranged 
in  a  showy  and  tasteful  manner.  Before  each  of  us  was  a 
fresh  cocoa-nut  made  into  a  temporary  goblet,  and  filled 
with  the  sweetest  cocoa-nut  milk  I  ever  tasted.  The  va- 
riety is  peculiar  to  Siam.  Tea  was  served  in  delicate 
gilded  porcelain,  and  in  similar  cups  the  sweetened  water 
and  white  pulp  of  the  napa  palm. 

Here,  for  the  first  time,  I  saw  the  celebrated  "  durian," 
a  fi'uit  of  which  I  have  heard  ever  since  our  arrival  in  the 
East,  and  in  such  superlative  tenns,  both  of  its  disgusting 
repulsiveness  and  subsequent  fascinations,  that  I  regarded 
all  descriptions  of  it  as  exaggeration  and  affectation.  The 
fniit  is  about  the  size  of  a  cocoa-nut  with  the  outer  husk. 
It  is  green,  and  covered  with  sharp  short  points.  This 
outer  pi'ickly  i^od  is  divided  into  four  or  five  lobes,  in  each 
of  which  are  three  or  four  smooth  brown  stones,  envel- 
oped in  a  stringy  custardy  pulp — which  is  the  edible  por- 
tion, there  being  very  little  fruit  for  the  great  shoAV.  The 
odor  of  this  fruit  is  very  strong,  and  may  be  perceived  in 
all  parts  of  the  house  in  which  a  durian  may  be.  This 
odor  has  been  described,  and  truly,  as  a  mixture  of  sul- 
phureted  hydrogen  gas  and  garlic.  All  are  driven  from 
the  fruit  when  they  fii'st  see  it,  and  when  they  venture  to 
put  it  in  their  mouths  the  taste  is  worse  than  the  smell, 
and  yet  all  who  continue  eating  it  become  extravagantly 
fond  of  it,  preferring  it  to  every  other  fruit.  One  gentle- 
man told  me  that  the  first  ever  brought  into  his  presence 
was  under  a  dish-cover,  and,  without  knowing  what  it 
was,  he  fled  the  table  in  disgust.  He  lived  six  years  in 
yearly  contact  "\vith  the  durian  before  he  was  able  to  put 
it  in  his  mouth,    A  lady,  in  another  region  of  the  East, 


188  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

told  me  that  she  was  longer  than  this  before  she  could 
taste  it,  and  now  both  these  persons  preferred  the  diirian 
to  all  other  fruits.  This  on  the  sonidecht's  table  was  not 
opened,  as  none  of  us  ventured  to  taste  it,  and  it  was  sent, 
very  much  to  the  disgust  of  some  of  our  party,  with  other 
delicacies  to  our  boat.  That  evening,  the  young  Ger- 
man secretary  to  the  Consul  General  came  out  of  the 
room  in  which  he  had  been  writing,  with  an  expression 
of  disgust  upon  his  countenance.  I  asked  what  was  the 
matter.  He  said,  "  That  thing  is  hanging  outside  the 
window,  and  I  can  not  possibly  sit  in  the  room."  A  day  or 
two  after  this,  I  made  my  first  attempt  to  swallow  some, 
and  succeeded  with  great  difficulty.  The  following  morn- 
ing I  jDut  another  morsel  in  my  mouth,  and  was  compelled 
immediately  to  eject  it.  At  dinner  of  the  same  day  I  ate 
a  little  with  some  relish ;  on  the  following  day  I  wished 
for  it,  and,  since  then,  have  found  no  fruits  a  compensa- 
tion for  the  durian. 

From  the  somdecht's  we  went  to  the  palace  of  the 
Chief  of  the  Judiciary,  the  Lord  Mayor  of  the  city,  and, 
what  is  better  than  all,  the  father  of  the  king's  favorite 
wife.  Here  refreshments  were  also  offered  us.  On  the 
table  were  some  peculiarly-shaped  black  clay  water  bot- 
tles. Having  noticed  them,  he  said  he  had  been  on  a 
war  expedition  to  the  province  of  Laos,  and  brought  them 
from  there.  Upon  taking  leave,  one  of  these  bottles  was 
presented  to  each  officer. 

On  our  retmTi,  having  called  at  the  house  of  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Mattoon,  Prince  TVongsa,  living  opposite,  sent  for  us, 
to  have  a  social  chat ;  and  the  old  gentleman,  as  we  took 
leave  of  him,  sent  a  bag  of  rock  candy  into  our  boat,  as 
he  had  noticed,  he  said,  upon  the  occasion  of  his  visit  to 
our  quarters,  that  the  sugar  we  had  on  the  table  was  very 
bad. 

On  the   following    morning — Saturday,   the    26th  of 


SIAMESE     AKD     CHRISTIAN      NOBLES.       189 

April — tlie  son-in-law  of  the  somdeclit,  in  a  handsome 
sarong,  came  to  announce  that  the  old  somdecht  was  on 
his  way  to  see  us,  and  soon  after  the  old  gentleman  made 
his  appearance  in  a  most  stately  manner,  wearing  a  long- 
yellow  silk  mantle,  and  sandals  of  crimson  cloth — the  first 
of  the  nobles  I  have  seen  with  shoes  of  any  kind.  He 
was  accompanied  by  his  band  of  wind  instruments,  which 
in  the  aggregate  produced  a  music  resembling  that  of  the 
bagpipes.  I  asked  which  of  his  bauds  he  preferred,  and 
was  answered  :  "  They  are  of  different  characters,  as  is 
Euroj^ean  music,  and  I  like  each  in  their  way."  This  visit 
of  the  old  somdecht  was  remarkable  as  the  first  he  had 
ever  been  known  to  pay  foreigners.  We  were  sorry  that 
we  could  not  approach  his  style  of  entertainment,  being 
able  to  give  him  nothmg  but  tea  and  ship's  bread. 

After  the  departure  of  the  somdecht,  two  or  three  of  us, 
accompanied  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ashmore,  of  the  Baptist  mis- 
sion, undertook  a  walk  through  what  maybe  called  the  busi- 
ness street  of  Bangkok.  Winding  our  way  a  few  steps 
through  the  maze  of  thatched  houses  back  of  our  quarters, 
we  came  upon  a  narrow  pavement  of  very  heavy  bricks. 
This  pavement  was  a  kind  of  alley-way  for  miles  through 
rows  of  closely-joined  shops  of  Chinese  goods,  gambling- 
houses,  etc.  It  led  through  the  bazaar  or  market,  in 
which  vegetables,  fruits,  fish,  crabs,  shrimps,  half-naked 
women,  wholly-naked  children,  and  myriads  of  yeljjing 
yellow  curs  were  seen.  The  entire  dwelling  places  of  the 
families  seemed  to  bo  the  sheds  in  which  their  wares  were 
exposed.  A  covering  of  bamboo  slats  in  many  places 
crossed  this  lane,  from  the  roof  of  the  houses  on  one  side 
to  those  of  another ;  and  if  no  other  testimony  existed  of 
Siamese  stature,  this  covering  would  give  it,  as  most  of 
our  party  had  to  stoop  in  passing  under  it — the  average 
height  of  the  Siamese  being  but  five  feet  three  inches. 
Besides  this  business  alley,  similar  paved  ways  wind  off 


190  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

for  miles  through  the  jimgle,  crossing  the  canals  ou  hndges 
of  one  or  two  planks,  which  may  be  removed  when  the 
king  makes  a  passage,  so  that  no  inferior  foot  may,  by  any 
chance,  tread  over  his  sacred  head.  In  following  one  of 
these  rough  pavements,  which  are  generally  not  more 
than  two  or  three  bricks  wide,  it  is  so  overgrown  with 
grass,  passes  through  such  a  Avild  thicket,  and  is  so 
hedged  with  jungle,  that  one  would  think  he  was  ti*ead- 
ing  the  scant  remains  of  some  ruined  and  overgrown  city 
of  a  past  age ;  but,  scattered  through  the  thickets  on 
each  side,  may  be  seen,  on  their  posts,  the  thatched  huts 
of  the  Siamese. 

While  following  one  of  these  walks,  upon  another  occa- 
sion, we  came  upon  a  group  of  men  shooting  at  a  black 
squirrel  on  a  neighboring  tree.  They  used  bows  with  two 
strings,  separated  in  the  middle  by  a  small  cup,  or  basket, 
of  bamboo  fibres,  from  which  they  shot  clay  balls,  and 
with  much  accuracy ;  for,  although  they  did  not  hit  the 
squirrel,  the  balls  passed  immediately  beside  him,  and 
sometimes  shook  the  small  limb  directly  beneath  him. 
My  comjianion,  Lieutenant  Lewis,  was  so  taken  with  this 
archery  that  he  attempted  it  himself,  amusing  the  Siamese 
very  much  by  his  failures ;  but,  after  a  few  attempts  and 
a  little  teaching,  he  surprised  them  by  his  success. 

Our  first  Sunday  in  Siam,  although  no  Sabbath  to  the 
Siamese,  was  to  us  a  gratifying  day,  as  we  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  assembhng  at  the  house  of  Dr.  Bradley,  of  the 
Presbyterian,  or  rather  Congregational  mission,  for  the 
accustomed  worship  of  our  country.  There  are  three 
missions,  the  Presbyterian  and  the  Congregational,  which 
are  up  the  river,  and  the  Baptist,  which  is  two  miles  be- 
low. Each  member  of  these  missions  has  his  prescribed 
duties — some  as  Chinese  preachers  and  teachers,  some  as 
Siamese.  One  gentleman  has  charge  of  the  press,  and. 
those  skilled  in  medicine  give  their  services  and  their 


SIAMESE     AND     CHEISTIAN     NOBLES.    191 

remedies  to  all  needing  them  and  willing  to  take  them. 
They  constitnte  a  community  active  for  good,  accordmg 
to  theu"  own  conscientious  convictions.  At  first  it  would 
seem  that  the  fact  of  three  differing  Protestant  sects  being 
represented  by  the  missionaries  at  Bangkok  would  be  ad- 
verse to  their  making  any  progress  in  their  teaching,  as 
the  heathen  might  well  say,  "  Why  teach  us,  when  you 
disagree  among  yourselves?"  but,  in  the  providence  of 
God,  these  diversities  become  the  evidence  of  truth  and 
sincerity,  because,  although  knowm  to  be  of  different 
sects,  they  are  seen  mingling  in  harmonious  worship,  aud 
united  in  teaching  the  same  great  religious  truths.  But 
the  great  question  is,  What  success  have  their  teachmgs 
met  ?  No  matter  what  the  reply,  it  can  in  no  way  affect 
the  convictions  of  religious  communities  and  individuals, 
because  they  acknowledge  the  command,  and  have  faith 
in  the  promises  of  God,  leaving  their  fulfillment  to  His 
own  time  and  ultimate  designs.  It  is  suflicient  for  such 
that  God  has  said, 

"  Go  ye  therefore  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them 
in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost ;  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  what- 
soever I  have  commanded  you ;  and  lo,  I  am  Avith  you 
always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 

"Ask  of  me,  and  I  shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for 
thme  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth 
for  thy  possession." 

"The  seventh  angel  sounded;  and  there  were  great 
voices  in  heaven,  saying,  The  kingdoms  of  this  world  are 
become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ ; 
and  he  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever." 

But  there  are  many  persons  who  profess  to  believe 
the  Bible,  and  who  would  be  very  much  surprised  if  told 
they  had  no  faith  in  it,  who  yet  persist  in  limiting  and 
judging  the   Deity's  vast   arrangements  by  their   own 


192  SIAJt     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

ever-erring  and  fallible  judgment.  Such  persons  judge 
of  the  value  of  a  sect,  indeed,  of  the  success  of  Christ's 
kingdom,  by  the  worldly  eloquence  and  wisdom  of  those 
preaching  in  the  sect  and  proclaiming  the  kingdom,  for- 
getting that  inspiration  has  declared,  not  by,  but  against, 
worldly  wisdom  and  philosojjhy  shall  the  j^ower  of  the 
gospel  be  made  known,  that  it  may  be  seen  to  be  of 
God,  and  not  of  man. 

"  And  my  speech  and  my  preaching  was  not  with  en- 
ticing words  of  man's  wisdom,  but  in  demonstration  of 
the  Spirit,  and  of  power :  that  your  faith  should  not  stand 
in  the  Avisdom  of  men,  but  in  the  power  of  God." 

"  For  it  is  written,  I  will  destroy  the  wisdom  of  the 
wise,  and  will  bring  to  notMng  the  understanding  of  the 
prudent. 

"  Where  is  the  wise  ?  where  is  the  scribe  ?  where 
is  the  disputer  of  this  world  ?  hath  not  God  made  foohsh 
the  wisdom  of  this  world  ? 

"  For  after  that  in  the  wisdom  of  God  the  world  by 
wisdom  knew  not  God,  it  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness 
of  preaching  to  save  them  that  beUeve." 

But  reasoning  after  the  wisdom  of  this  world,  men 
professing  faith  in  the  Bible  exclaim,  "Jlissions  to  the 
heathen  are  useless ;  it  is  labor  and  money  thrown 
away;"  when  they  look  upon  so  barren  a  field  as  Siam. 
"  For  a  quarter  of  a  century,  missionaries  have  labored 
in  Bangkok,"  and  have  yet  to  be  assured  of  one  Siamese 
convert.  This  certainly  seems  discouraging  enough,  but 
those  who  have  labored  longest  and  most  assiduously 
stUl  keep  at  their  work  in  full  faith  in  the  promises  of 
a  truthful  God.  "Why  should  they  not?  A  quarter  of 
a  century  is  much  in  man's  life ;  centuries  added  to  it, 
in  the  eternal  designs  of  God,  may  not  be  the  brief 
moment  of  the  lightning-flash.  Centuries  after  the  first 
proclamation  of  Christianity,  and  in  the  countiies  nearest 


SIAMESE      AXD     CHEISTIAN     XOBLES.193 

to  its  origin,  pagan  rites  and  ceremonies  were  in  use 
among  the  most  enlightened  and  powerful  existing  nations. 
And  as  I  have  before  remarked,  the  national  teachers  of 
these  peoples  are  but  just  born. 

But  is  it  not  presumptuous  to  say  that  nothing  has 
been  done — ^that  God  has  neglected  His  own  work  ?  In 
these  twenty-five  years  may  not  the  foundation  of  great 
and  permanent  future  changes  have  been  laid  ?  In- 
deed, the  apparent'  results  of  missionary  teaching  and 
residence  are  far  more  encouraging  than  might  be  in- 
ferred from  the  absence  of  personal  conversion. 

At  the  house  of  Mr,  Telford,  of  the  Baptist  mission,  there 
are,  every  Sunday,  several  services  by  Mr.  Telford  and  those 
of  Mr.  Ashmore,  in  Chinese,  are  attended  by  about  thirty 
Chinese  Christians,  some  of  whom  take  part  in  the  service. 
At  the  house  of  Mr.  Smith  there  are  similar  Siamese  ser- 
vices, and  also  at  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mattoon,  ol 
the  Presbyterian  mission.  It  is  true,  these  are  attended 
chiefly  by  their  pupils  and  various  persons  employed  by 
the  mission  families ;  still  they  are  attended  resj^ectfully, 
and  hear  the  gosj^el  intelligibly.  Again,  the  Bible  has 
been  freely  translated  into  the  Siamese  language ;  it  is 
read  eagerly,  and  I  have  seen  Buddhist  jmests,  in  their 
yellow  garments,  several  times  applying  for  some  jiaits  of 
these  translations.  It  is  a  very  significant  fact,  too,  that 
the  more  intelligent  and  better  informed  among  the  Sia- 
mese, in  defending  Buddhism,  do  so  apologetically,  saying 
its  moral  precepts  are  similar  to  those  of  the  Christian 
religion,  apparently  valuing  their  faith  according  to  its 
approach  to  Christianity.  The  king,  who,  previous  to  his 
reaching  the  throne,  was  a  talapoin,  or  priest,  and  who 
now  records  himself  as  professor  of  the  Bali  language 
(the  sacred  language)  and  of  Buddhistical  literature,  has 
expunged  the  whole  Buddhistical  cosmogony,  and  retained 
only  its  moral  injunctions. 

9 


194  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

Then,  again,  the  kindness  and  devotion  of  the  mission- 
aries to  the  interests  of  the  natives  without  the  expectar 
tion  of  reward — their  patience,  sincerity,  and  truthfulness, 
have  won  their  confidence  and  esteem,  and,  in  some  de- 
gree, transferred  those  sentiments  to  the  nation  repre- 
sented by  the  missions,  and  prepared  the  way  for  the  free 
national  intercourse  now  commencing.  Nothing  could 
more  strongly  illustrate  the  influence  personally  exerted 
by  the  missionaries,  and  the  confidence  reposed  in  them, 
than  the  fact  of  their  being  freely  consulted  and  advised 
with  by  the  kings  and  nobles,  even  in  aflaii'S  between  the 
Siamese  government  and  that  of  the  missionaries  them- 
selves. It  was  reported  to  me  that  Sir  John  Bowring 
had  said  that  his  own  success  in  negotiating  the  British 
treaty  had  been  so  far  beyond  his  expectations,  that  he 
could  but  acknowledge  the  finger  of  God  in  it.  True, 
whether  Sir  John  piously  said  so  or  not ;  and  part  of  the 
chain  of  these  successful  events  was  the  planting  of  Ameri- 
can missionaries  in  Siam,  for  the  confidence  reposed  in 
them  extends  to  kindred  western  people.  It  was  very 
evident  that  much  of  the  apprehension  they  felt  in  taking 
upon  themselves  the  responsibihties  of  a  treaty  with  us 
would  be  diminished  if  they  could  have  the  Rev.  Mi-. 
Mattoon  as  the  first  United  States  Consul  to  set  the  treaty 
in  motion.  Finally,  among  the  qmet  means  by  which  the 
missionaries,  unperceived  by  themselves,  have  been  ex- 
tending the  influence  of  their  religion,  has  been  the  moral 
force  of  that  virtue  which  is  said  to  be  next  to  godliness 
— cleanliness.  The  neatness,  quiet  system  and  order  of 
theii"  houses,  excite  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  the 
Siamese,  and  stimulate  some  of  them  to  a  wholesome  imi- 
tation, and  many  express  their  admiration  of  the  cleanliness 
liieu-  confirmed  habits  of  filth  unfit  them  to  imitate. 

Truthfulness,  unfortunately,  is  not  a  Siamese  virtue,  but 
they  can  understand  the  value  and  the  obligation  of  ti-uth 


SIAMESE     AND     CHRISTIAN      NOBLES.         195 

among  those  who  do  appreciate  it.  TJiis  was  shown  in  a 
contest  between  two  Siamese  in  the  employ  of  one  of  the 
missionaries,  and  I  record  the  anecdote  as  evidence  of  the 
unperceived  iuflnence  of  missionary  residence  among  such 
a  people.  The  dispute  was  referred  to  their  employer  for 
settlement,  and  one  of  the  party  made  a  statement  directly 
contrary  to  what  he  had  previously  asserted  to  his  com- 
petitor. His  competitor  reminded  him  of  the  difference 
between  his  present  statement  and  that  he  had  previoi;sly 
made. 

"  Certainly,"  he  replied,  "  but  between  ourselves,  you 
know,  we  all  lie  as  much  as  we  can,  but  in  talking  to  the 
Doctor,  I  must  tell  the  truth." 

Admitting,  however,  that  missionary  influence  in  Siam 
has  been  slow  in  its  results,  there  are  peculiar  reasons  for 
such  a  delayed  progress,  without  implying  the  uselessness 
of  missions  ujjon  mere  human  reasoning.  In  the  first 
place,  the  whole  nation  is  of  the  priesthood.  Every  man 
is  obliged  to  serve  some  portion  of  his  life  as  a  priest,  and, 
directly  or  indirectly,  every  family  is  allied  with,  and 
interested,  in  the  priesthood. 

Again,  the  servihty  and  humiUation  of  the  masses  is 
yielding  and  submissive  beyond  conception.  I  have  never 
seen  any  approach  to  it,  excejDt  among  the  serfs  of  Russia 
in  relation  to  their  Emperor  and  Patriarch.  In  Siam 
every  man  belongs  to  some  superior,  and  that  superior  is 
to  the  man,  what  man  is  to  the  dog — his  God.  He  pros- 
trates himself  uj^oa  the  ground,  and  presses  his  face  into 
the  earth  before  him,  and  is  happy  in  doing  so.  To  think 
in  opposition  to  his  master,  is  a  treason  and  a  heresy. 
Of  course  there  can  be  no  independence  of  thought,  no 
spu'it  of  investigation  among  such  a  people.  Some  of 
them  have  said  to  the  missionaries,  "  We  are  interested 
in  what  you  say,  and  would  like  to  study  the  matter 
further,  but  M'C  dare  not  —  Ave  are  forbid."     The  ])OWor 


196  SIAM     AND     TUE     SIAMKSE. 

of  this  despotic  control  is  shown  by  the  foot,  that  of  the 
large  and  more  independent  Chinese  population,  many 
have  become  sincere  and  practical  professing  Christians. 

A  third,  and  a  great  obstacle,  arises  out  of  the  nature 
of  the  Buddhist  fliith.  It  is  a  doctrine  of  works  of  merit, 
a  belief  that  future  happiness  is  purchased  by  human 
effort,  by  charities,  by  building  temples,  pagodas,  etc, 
and,  as  in  all  such  doctrines,  the  result  is  corrupting.  It 
is  a  debtor  and  creditor  account,  which  is  left  altogether 
in  the  hands  of  one  of  the  jDarties,  and  to  the  bias  of  his 
own  interests.  A  freedom  to  sin  is  felt  to  be  in  propor- 
tion to  the  ability  of  compensation — according  to  the 
sinning  individual's  judgment  of  what  is  a  fair  price.  It 
recognizes  none  of  that  purity  of  heart,  of  which  good 
deeds  are  but  the  blossoms  and  the  fruits.  Hence,  while 
admitting  all  the  virtues  of  the  missionaries,  and  com- 
mending their  selfdenial,  patience,  benevolence,  etc., 
they  say,  of  course,  it  is  all  on  the  debtor  and  credit 
principle,  to  lay  up  for  themselves  a  store  of  purchase 
money  for  the  happiness  of  futurity. 

I  have  written  what  I  believe  to  be  my  honest  convic- 
tions respecting  the  necessity  and  utility,  upon  human  rea- 
soning, of  missionary  influence  among  heathen  nations. 
Religious  men  Avill  wonder  that  I  have  wasted  any  argu- 
ment upon  so  settled  a  question,  but  my  life  throws  me 
among  the  honest,  sincere,  and  well  meaning,  who  wdll 
insist  upon  seeing  every  thing  by  the  dim  twinkUng  of 
human  experience  and  observation,  instead  of  by  the  sun- 
light of  revelation.  Looking  at  the  matter  through  the 
same  imperfect  organs,  I  have  felt  it  an  obligation  of  duty 
to  point  out  its  hopeful  appearance. 

To  many  of  us  the  missionaries  of  Siam  are  a  grateftil 
remembrance.  Our  duty  had  placed  us  geographically 
in  a  broad  level  physical  swamp,  but  there  lay  ai*ound 
us  a  more  mephitic  moral  marsh  of  humanity,  and  from 


DIPLOMACY     INAUGURATED.  197 

this  dreary  level  the  homes  of  the  missionaries  rose 
like  healthful  and  refreshing  eminences.  The  association 
of  intelligent  and  honest  countrymen  and  women,  the 
kindly-tendered  hospitalities,  the  invoked  blessing  at  the 
neat  meal,  the  morning  and  evening  family  worship,  car- 
ried us  back  to  our  country  and  to  its  best  observances. 
We  left  them  suiTounded  by  dark  clouds  of  heathenism, 
but  gleaming  Uke  stars  through  their  thick  vapor,  and 
offering  the  promise  of  a  coming  day  of  unveiled  brilliancy 
— Christian  nobles. 


XVII. 

DIPLOMACY    INAUaURATKD. 

The  principal  part  of  the  city  of  Bangkok  stands  upon 
a  projection  of  land,  around  which  the  river  cun-es,  and 
the  two  extremities  of  the  curve  or  horse-shoe,  three  miles 
apart,  are  united  by  a  broad  canal,  thus  leaving  the  site 
of  the  city  an  island,  or  rather  a  collection  of  islets,  for  a 
number  of  minor  canals,  j)rivate  and  public  highways,  pass 
from  the  river  to  the  canal,  and  intersect  each  other.  The 
whole  city  is  inclosed  by  a  heavy  turreted  wall. 

Although  it  was  quite  a  gloomy,  rainy  day,  and  the 
rainy  season  ap2:)earcd  to  have  fairly  set  in,  the  Rev. 
Messrs.  Tel  ford  and  Ashmore,  of  the  Baptist  mission,  called 
with  their  boat  to  make  a  tour  of  observation.  The  small 
boat  of  these  gentlemen  was  a  much  more  convenient 
affair  for  penetrating  the  by-ways  than  one  of  the  stately 
government  boats  furnished  the  commission ;  and  then 
we  were  free  from  the  constant  espionage  of  Pedro, 
Gabrielle,  Macko,  and  the  whole  tribe  of  Siamese-Portu- 
guese spies  who  hung  at  our  heels  wherever  we  Avent  in 
the  oflScial  boats. 


198  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

Vultures — tlirty,  disgusting  vultures — were  continually- 
seen  from  our  quarters,  wending  their  way  ever  in  one 
direction.  It  was  toward  the  grounds  of  one  of  the  larger 
wats  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  where  the  daily  dead  were 
generally  consumed.  The  gloomy  rainy  day  was  a  con- 
genial one  for  a  visit  to  such  a  scene  of  burning,  corrupting 
mortality.  "VVe  took  our  way  through  the  new  canal — 
the  one  above  mentioned,  there  being  an  older  and  a 
shorter  one  close  to  the  city  wall.  In  passing  through 
these  canals  we  see  the  practical  good  sense  of  paddling 
instead  of  using  long  sweej^ing  oars ;  for  the  latter  there 
would  be  no  room,  but  the  paddles,  kept  close  to  the 
sides  of  the  boats,  enabled  them  to  pass  each  other  with 
facility. 

Soon  after  leaving  the  mouth  of  the  river,  we  turned 
into  an  intersecting  canal  to  visit  the  "  king's  wat."  It 
was  not  so  extensive  as  many  others,  but  was  very  neat, 
the  grounds  decorated  with  the  lotus  and  other  flowers  as 
usual.  The  main  temple  was  curious  from  having,  above 
the  Buddhistical  paintings  which  decorated  the  walls,  a 
correct  representation  of  the  solar  system.  Immediately 
back  of  the  main  temple  was  a  smaller  one,  looking  like  a 
vault,  but  closed  by  a  doorway  about  five  feet  by  three, 
which  was  a  perfect  gem.  It  was  of  solid  ebony  inlaid 
with  the  most  delicate  mother-of-pearl,  and  so  inlaid  and 
covered  that  just  enough  of  lines  of  the  dark  ebony  were 
seen  to  relieve  the  pearly  gleaming  of  its  dccoi-atious. 
These  were  finely,  beautifully  and  smoothly  wrought,  and 
represented,  in  the  uj^per  and  lower  part  of  each  half  of 
the  door,  the  triple-headed  elephant,  and  other  royal  in- 
signia, surrounded  by  leaves,  scrolls  and  flowing  plumes. 
The  slightest  change  of  the  point  of  view  threw  the  whole 
into  opaline  scintillations  or  irridescence.  On  our  way 
to  this  place  we  passed  acres  covered  vnth  sheds,  under 
which  were  the  large  war  boats  or  canoes  of  the  kingdom. 


DIPLOMACY     INAUGURATED.  199 

We  next  pulled  along  another  intersecting  canal  to  the 
wat  of  the  "  bumings."  The  grounds  and  buildings  of 
this  place  are  said  to  occupy  about  thirty  acres.  The 
buildings  make  a  village  of  themselves ;  and  as  we  passed 
along  the  avenues,  they  had  a  forlorn,  dilapidated  appear- 
ance. 

"We  slopped  our  way  through  mud  and  puddles  of 
water  to  the  grass  and  weed-grown  ground  where  the 
bodies  were  consumed.  Here,  in  several  points,  were 
masses  of  ^oals,  ashes,  and  half-burned  human  bones. 
Near  by  were  some  elevated,  smoke-blackened  frames, 
looking  like  gibbets.  These  were  for  the  arrangement 
of  fire- works  by  those  who  were  well  enough  off  to  burn 
their  friends  amid  such  celebrations  and  displays.  On 
these  gallows-looking  frames  and  the  ridges  of  some 
adjoining  tumble-down  buildings,  sat  confidently  at  home 
fines  of  dark-gray,  dirty-draggled  vultures,  with  drooping 
wings,  their  breasts  and  necks  stripped  of  feathers,  and 
their  filthy  crops  hanging  like  balls  of  black  flesh.  What 
did  they  among  these  dry  bones  and  ashes  ?  The  weeds 
grew  in  rank  patches,  and  looking  into  one  of  these  clumps 
of  vegetation,  I  saw  a  human  body  with  the  flesh  partly 
stripped  from  its  bones.  Near  by  was  a  broken  wall  with 
an  opening  in  it.  Curiosity  led  me  to  look  through  it, 
and  though  it  has  been  my  lot  to  witness  many  disgust- 
ing scenes,  I  hurried  with  revolting  from  what  there  met 
my  eyes.  In  shallow  puddles  of  water  lay  several  naked 
bodies,  as  if  just  thrown  there.  Off  of  some,  vultures  were 
making  a  ravenous  meal,  and  a  gaunt  dog  was  tearing  the 
flesh  from  the  cheek  of  another.  This  wat,  I  understood, 
has  an  allowance  for  burning  the  bodies  of  those  whose 
friends  can  not  afford  this  office  for  them,  and  to  econo- 
mize the  fuel,  they  leave  the  dogs  and  vultures  to  con- 
sume the  flesh,  and  charge  themselves  with  burning  only 
the  dry  bones.     I  had  heard  that  such  was  the  economi 


200  S I A  M     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

cal  mode  ot  diisposing  of  the  bodies  of  the  poorer  people, 
but  could  not  believe  it  until  this  offensive  sight  lay  before 
my  eyes. 

Continuing  our  way  through  this  canal,  we  came,  at  its 
upper  terminus,  upon  the  river  again,  and  visited  a  factory 
of  some  acres'  extent,  on  which,  under  sheds,  were  piled 
up  in  fragments  rising  from  circular  brick  inclosures,  tons 
of  pink-colored  mortar,  all  uf  which  was  to  be  passed  into 
the  mouths  of  the  Siamese,  this  being  the  place  for  pre- 
paring the  lime  used  with  their  betel-nut.  The  beautiful 
pink  hue  is  given  by  the  mixture  of  turmeric.  This  pro- 
cess was  going  on  in  several  brick-lined  pits. 

Upon  our  return  to  our  quarters,  we  found  that  a 
message  had  been  received  from  the  king  j^ostponing  the 
public  audience  from  Wednesday,  April  30th,  to  Thurs- 
day, May  1st,  uj^on  the  alleged  ground  that  it  would  be 
in  a  more  lucky  month,  according  to  the  month  of  our 
calendar.  This,  however,  was  supposed  to  be  a  mere 
pretext  to  meet  some  convenience  of  the  king.  That 
evening  the  order  and  manner  of  our  reception,  which 
had  been  a  subject  of  some  uneasiness,  were  all  satisfacto- 
rily arranged.  The  Siamese  have  the  most  exalted  no- 
tions of  monarchy,  and  as  before  stated,  they  had  either 
conceived  the  notion,  or  it  had  been  suggested  to  them, 
that  as  we  represented  no  monarch,  but  only  a  re])ublic, 
the  reception  ought  not  to  be  so  distinguished  as  that  of 
the  British  embassy,  and  the  letter  of  the  President,  in- 
stead of  being  received  by  the  king  directly  from  the 
hands  of  the  commissioner,  must  be  handed  to  some  sub- 
ordinate functionary.  If  they  did  entertain  such  notions, 
they  readily  and  libei*ally  changed  them  uj)on  proj)er  ex- 
planations, and  it  was  determined  that  our  reception  was 
to  be  of  the  most  honorable  character  which  pomp  and 
cu'cumstauce  could  give.  The  letter  of  the  President 
was  to  be  borne  alone  in  a  royal  throne  boat,  with  a 


DIPI>OMACY     INATTGURATED.  201 

proper  escort,  and  received  by  the  king  directly  from  the 
hands  of  the  commissioner.  No  degrading  humiliations 
were  to  be  exacted  from  us.  Upon  our  entrance  to  the 
audience  hall,  we  were  all  to  bow  ;  then,  walking  up  the 
hall  to  our  places,  we  were  to  bow  again  before  taking 
our  seats  on  the  carpet ;  then  velvet  cushions  were  pro- 
vided for  the  commissioner  and  Commodore.  Upon  the 
conclusion  of  the  commissioner's  address,  we  were  to  rise, 
bow,  and  resume  our  seats. 

The  rain,  which  had  been  almost  constant  since  our 
arrival  in  Bangkok,  would  have  interfered  very  much 
both  Avith  the  comfort  and  brilliancy  of  our  procession, 
but  the  morning  of  May  1st  was  beautifully  bright  and 
clear,  and  about  twelve  o'clock  we  started  from  our  quar- 
ters in  the  large  state  barges  which  the  king^  had  sent  for 
us.  First  went  boats  containing  the  band  ;  then  followed 
the  boat  wiih  the  President's  letter,  which  was  deposited 
upon  an  elevated  and  canopied  throne.  In  this  boat  were 
five  standard-bearers  with  triangular  silk  banners.  The 
letter  itself  was  laid  in  a  portfolio  of  embossed  purple 
velvet;  heavy  white  silk  cords  attached  the  seal,  which 
was  shut  in  a  silver  box  ornamented  in  relief  with  the 
arms  of  the  United  States.  The  cords  passing  through 
the  seal  and  box  were  terminated  by  two  heavy  white 
silk  cord-tassels ;  the  whole  was  inclosed  in  a  box  in  the 
form  of  a  book  bound  in  purple  and  gold  ;  over  this  was 
thrown  a  cover  of  yellow  satin.  The  marine  guard,  in 
two  boats  under  command  of  Lieutenant  Tyler,  escorted 
that  containing  the  letter.  Next  came  a  richly-canopied 
and  curtained  boat  containing  specimens  of  the  presents 
fi-om  the  United  States  to  the  king.  This  was  followed 
by  the  barge  containing  the  commissioner,  his  interpreter, 
Rev.  Mr.  Mattoon,  and  his  secretary,  Mr.  Ilouskin,  with 
one  of  the  ship's  coxswains  carrying  the  United  States  flag. 
The  Commodore,  his  secretary  and  I,  occupied  the  next 

9* 


202  SIASr     AND    TUE    SIAMESU. 

boat ;  and  then  followed  the  remaining  officers  of  the 
suite,  Purser  Bradford,  Lieutenants  Rutledge  and  Carter, 
Chief  Engineer  Isherwood,  and  Assistant  Surgeon  Daniels. 
Tlie  whole  procession  must  have  extended  along  the  river 
for  at  least  half  a  mile.  The  river  fronts,  the  floating 
houses,  were  covered  with  a  dense  mass  of  Siamese, 
through  which  we  were  pulled  for  two  miles,  our  rowers 
shouting  and  whooping  like  wild  Indians,  as  theii-  paddles 
rapidly  struck  the  water  ;  this  being  one  of  the  modes  of 
indicating  that  they  bore  what  they  consider  honorable 
burthens. 

Arrived  at  the  palace  landing  we  were  received  by  one 
of  the  king's  brothers,  over  whom  was  borne  a  large 
golden  umbrella,  and  a  salute  of  artillery  was  fired  in 
honor  of  the  President's  letter,  or,  may  be,  of  all  of  us. 
It  was  some  distance  through  the  paved  streets  of  the 
town,  it  may  be  called,  which  lies  within  the  palace 
walls,  to  the  audience  hall.  Two  chairs,  carried  on  men's 
shoulders,  were  provided  for  the  Commodore  and  com- 
missioner, and  for  the  remainder  of  us  simply  red  cush- 
ions upon  a  seat  without  back  or  sides,  and  sup2:)orted  on 
arms  resting  on  the  men's  shoulders.  The  bearers  stoojjed 
that  we  might  take  om-  seats,  and  as  they  rose  suddenly 
with  us,  during  the  irregular  steps  of  their  progress  our 
seats  were  very  uncertain.  We  must  have  sat  there  very 
awkwardly,  for  the  crowds  of  Siamese  through  which  we 
passed  rent  the  air  "sWth  shouts  of  laughter.  Besides  our 
own  marine  guard  and  the  band,  a  large  company  of  Siam- 
ese, carrying  silken  banners,  accompanied  the  palanquin, 
upon  which  the  letter  was  borne,  and  also  a  company  of  men 
in  transparent  muslin  robes.  These  latter  were  the  sher- 
iffs and  constables  of  the  kingdom.  Our  way  was  through 
files  of  the  varied  military  companies — some  in  Euro- 
l^ean  costume,  with  muskets,  some  in  red  calico  gowns 
and  caps,  archers,  single-headed  spear  companies,  tiident- 


DIPLOMACY     INAUGURATED.  203 

shaped  spear  companies,  some  -with  i-)ikes,  some  with  single 
swords,  and  other  companies  in  which  each  man  carried  two 
swords;  some  carried  oval  shields  and  others  long  narrow 
shields,  protecting  only  the  arms.  Passing  this  military 
line  we  came  ujDon  one,  of  abont  a  dozen  elephants,  in  hol- 
iday attire  and  decoration.  Each  elephant  was  mounted 
by  three  men  in  fancy  costume,  and  on  the  backs  of  sev- 
eral of  them  were  small  pieces  of  artillery. 

We  were  dismounted  and  detained  some  little  time  at 
a  building  still  some  little  distance  from  the  audience  hall. 
Presently  a  messenger  came  to  usher  us  into  the  royal 
presence — the  guard  and  band  to  remain  outside  of  the 
inmost  gate,  through  which  no  arms  were  allowed  to  pass. 
As  we  turned  a  corner  we  came  suddenly  upon  an  ap- 
palling sight — files  of  a  hundred  men  on  each  side  of 
our  road,  and  each  man  had  under  his  left  arm  an  oblong 
drum  ;  in  his  right  hand  was  a  bone,  looking  Hke  a  deer's 
antler.  The  moment  we  made  our  ap2:)earance,  these  two 
hundred  drums  received  simultaneously  a  single  blow — 
and  the  crash  was  awful ;  and  then,  after  a  short  pause, 
another.  Having  passed  through  the  drums,  a  band  of 
wind  instruments  received  us,  and  then  we  were  at  the 
door  of  the  audience  hall.  All  of  the  Siamese  officials  in 
attendance  upon  us  fell  prostrate  to  the  ground.  The 
lofty  doors  were  thrown  open,  and  a  spectacle  at  once 
magnificent  and  humiliating  Avas  before  us.  Along  each 
side  of  the  long  hall,  in  two  rows,  lay  the  nobles  of  the 
kingdom,  resting  upon  their  elbows  and  knees  upon  red 
velvet  cushions.  They  were  clothed  in  the  richest  golden 
tissues,  some  having  golden  muslins  over  under  garments 
of  rich  silk,  and  some  fine  muslins  over  tunics  of  uniform 
gold.  My  old  friend.  Prince  Wongsa,  and  the  prime 
mmister  were  among  those  most  richly  and  tastefully 
costumed.  The  former  wore  a  robe  of  purple  silk  and 
gold,  the  latter  a  fine  white  muslin,  or  lace,  over  a  golden 


204  S  I  A  M      A  N'  D     THE     SIAMESE. 

tunic.  Before  each  noble  was  arranged  his  paraphernalia 
of  golden  vessels,  some  of  them  as  large  as  a  soup-tureen. 
Tliere  must  have  been  from  ten  to  twenty  thousand  dol- 
lars before  each  noble.  Behind  the  nobles,  along  each  side 
of  the  hall,  were  ranges  of  the  pyramid-shaped  standards  of 
lessening  silken  circles,  called  the  royal  umbrellas.  Glanc- 
ing our  eyes  along  these  rows  of  glittering  prostrate  nobles 
to  the  ui)per  part  of  the  hall  we  see  depending  from  its  lofty 
roof  two  curtains  of  gold  cloth.  These  are  drawn  back, 
and  we  see  an  elevated  throne  of  gold  cloth,  covered 
with  a  graceful  pointed  canopy.  The  curtains  of  the  front 
of  this  throne  are  drawn  back,  and  in  the  open  space  is 
seated  the  king,  also  clad  in  golden  fabrics,  and  upon  his 
head  a  crown  of  purple  velvet,  ghttering  with  jewels,  and 
having  a  single  bird-of-paradise  plume  falling  over  to  one 
side.  He  is  a  small,  thin,  pleasant  and  intelligent-faced 
man,  of  a  hue  scarcely  differing  from  that  of  his  dress  and 
surroundings. 

We  made  the  arranged  bows  and  took  our  seats.  Mr. 
Harris  placed  the  President's  letter  in  the  kmg's  hands 
and  delivered  the  following  address : 

"May  it  please  your  Majesty — 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  present  to  your  Majesty  a  let- 
ter from  the  President  of  the  United  States,  containing  a 
most  friendly  salutation  to  your  Majesty  and  also  accred- 
iting me  as  his  representative  at  your  court. 

"  I  am  directed  to  express  on  the  President's  behalf  the 
great  respect  and  esteem  that  he  feels  for  you,  and  his 
warm  wishes  for  the  health  and  welfare  of  your  Majesty, 
and  for  the  prosperity  of  yom*  dominions. 

"The  fame  of  your  Majesty's  great  acquirements  in 
many  difficult  languages  and  in  the  higher  branches  of 
science  has  crossed  the  great  oceans  that  separate  Siam 
from  the  United  States,  and  has  caused  high  admiration 
in  the  bronst  of  tho  President. 


DIPLOMACY     INAUGURATED.  205 

"  The  United  States  possesses  a  fertile  soU  and  is  rich 
in  all  the  iDroducts  of  the  temperate  zone.  Its  people  are 
devoted  to  agriculture,  manufactures  and  commerce.  The 
sails  of  its  ships  whiten  every  sea.  Its  flag  is  seen  in 
every  port.  The  gold  mines  of  the  country  are  among 
the  richest  in  the  world, 

"  Siam  produces  many  things  that  can  not  be  grown 
in  the  United  States,  and  the  Americans  will  gladly  ex- 
change their  products,  their  gold  and  their  silver,  for  the 
surplus  produce  of  Siam,  A  commerce  so  conducted  will 
be  beneficial  to  both  nations,  and  will  increase  the  friend- 
ship happily  existing  between  them,  I  esteem  it  a  high 
honor  that  I  have  been  selected  by  the  President  to  rep- 
resent my  country  at  the  court  of  the  wisest  and  most 
enlightened  monarch  of  the  East,  and  if  I  shall  succeed 
in  my  sincere  wish  to  strengthen  the  ties  of  amity  that 
unite  Siam  to  the  United  States,  I  shall  consider  it  the 
happiest  event  of  my  life." 

At  the  conclusion  of  this  address  we  all  rose,  made  the 
stipulated  bows,  and  resumed  our  seats.  The  king  then 
commenced  a  conversation  -with  the  commissioner.  Al- 
though he  spoke  and  read  English,  it  was  carried  on 
through  Mr.  Mattoon,  who  sat  near  Mr,  Harris,  and  a 
Siamese  official  interpreter,  who  lay  next  Mr.  Mattoon 
with  his  head  bowed  to  the  floor,  and  his  hands  pressed 
together  before  his  face.  At  each  communication  he 
raised  his  head  sUghtly,  and  prefaced  his  message  by  some 
of  the  magniloquent  titles  of  the  king.  During  the  first 
part  of  the  conversation,  the  king  was  loosening  the  clasps 
of  the  President's  letter,  whicli  he  seemed  impatient 
to  get  at.  He  asked  how  long  Mr.  Pierce  had  been 
President,  and  how  many  Presidents  there  liad  been. 
Having  by  this  time  got  out  the  letter,  he  noticed  the 
.scmI,  and  asked  if  we  had  a  new  seal  with  each  Presi- 


20G  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

dent.  lie  then  opened  the  letter,  and  read  it  aloud  in 
English,  with  a  French  accent,  and  then  said  to  the  com- 
missioner, 

"  Did  you  understand  me  ?" 

"  Perfectly." 

"I  will  now  read  it  in  Siamese,"  and  he  did  so  to  his 
nobles. 

He  then  inqiiired  how  many  treaties  we  had  with  the 
East,  and  with  what  nations.  He  remarked,  that  in  any 
treaty  we  might  make  with  Siam  we  could  expect  no 
exclusive  privileges.  The  commissioner  replied  that  we 
desired  none. 

The  king  then  went  on  with  quite  a  long  history  of  the 
various  embassies  which  had  visited  Siam,  and  held  up  a 
gold-scabbard ed  sword  which  had  been  presented  through 
Mr.  Roberts  to  the  then  king,  and  had  fallen  to  him.  He 
seemed  to  prize  it  highly. 

He  then  inquired  what  were  our  usages  in  receiving 
presents,  and  was  told  by  Mr.  Harris  that  the  Constitu- 
tion of  our  country  prohibited  our  receiving  any.  He 
inquired  what  was  done  with  such  presents  as  had  been 
made  to  officers  of  our  government,  and  was  told  they 
were  deposited  in  the  State  Department.  I  suppose  he 
made  the  inquiries,  because  he  had  heard  that  such  were 
our  arrangements. 

He  then  called  up  the  commissioner  and  the  Com- 
modore, and  handed  them  cards  for  each  one  present. 
They  were  neatly  engraved  on  silver-edged  cards,  and 
inclosed  in  glazed  silver-bordered  envelopes. 

Somdet  Phra 

Pcuramendr  Maha  IfoTigkuf. 

The  Commodore  and  commissioner  then  backed  to 
theii-  seats ;  the  golden  curtains  were  drawn  across  the 


DIPLOMACY     INAUGURATED.  207 

throne  ;  the  nobles  all  rose  on  their  knees,  and  with  their 
face  toward  the  throne,  and  hands  pressed  together  be- 
fore their  faces,  made  three  simultaneous  salaams,  and 
the  audience  was  closed.  During  the  audience  I  felt 
some  one  hghtly  pushing  my  elbow  ;  and,  looking  around, 
found  it  was  a  young  man,  the  nephew  and  private  sec- 
retaiy  of  the  king,  on  his  hands  and  knees,  pushing  be- 
fore him  a  silver  cup  of  cigars  and  box  of  lucifer  matches, 
and  also  a  small  stand  of  wine  in  cut  rose-tinted  decanters, 
and  with  glasses  to  correspond. 

Notwithstanding  the  sacredness  of  "  the  presence," 
smoking  was  not  against  etiquette,  and  was  therefore 
freely  indulged  by  the  commissioner  and  others  of  us 
smokers  during  the  hour  and  a  half  that  the  audience 
continued. 

Retui-ning  to  the  first  recejDtion-room,  we  found  an 
elegant  and  profuse  dinner  prejiared  for  us.  The  French 
have  a  reputation  for  artificial  cookery ;  but  the  Siamese 
can  teach  them  savory  and  elegant  complications,  some- 
what obnoxious,  it  is  true,  to  some  unsophisticated  tastes, 
by  the  free  sprinkling  of  garlic.  "We  had  but  just  taken 
our  seats  at  the  dkiner-table,  when  our  old  and  substantial 
friend,  Prince  Wongsa,  joined  us,  stripped,  undoubtedly 
to  his  great  delight,  of  all  his  court  trappings,  and  wear- 
ing nothmg  but  his  silken  sarong,  entirely  exj^osing  his 
broad  chest.  lie  took  a  seat  in  an  open  window,  and 
saw  that  all  the  arrangements  for  our  table  were  prop- 
erly conducted.  The  Iving  of  Siam  was  drunk  with  three 
cheers,  vM  pro  forma,  as  we  were  not  a  cheering  or  drink- 
ing set.  Prince  Wongsa  remarked  that  we  did  not  give 
our  hurrahs  with  the  same  energy  as  those  who  drank 
more  brandy. 

On  the  following  day  we  had  a  public  audience  with 
the  second  king,  very  similar  to  that  with  the  first.  He 
also  made  many  inquiries  respecting  our  Presidents,  and 


206  S  I  A  M      A  X  D     THE     SIAMESE. 

seemed  to  have  a  particiilai'  affection  for  General  Jackson, 
respecting  whom  he  made  minute  inquiries. 

Some  of  the  officers  present  he  requested  to  stand  up 
as  thuir  names  and  stations  were  individually  mentioned. 

After  the  audience  was  closed,  the  somdecht  said  he 
wished  to  see  me,  at  my  convenience,  at  his  house.  Din- 
ner was  served  as  yesterday,  and  Prince  Wongsa  again 
made  liis  appearance  in  the  same  Eden-like  costume,  but 
said  that  he  must  apologize  for  leaving  us,  as  the  king  was 
about  making  a  progress  on  the  water,  and  it  was  his  duty 
to  attend  him.  During  dinner  a  message  was  received 
from  the  second  king,  that  he  wished  to  see  the  Commo- 
dore privately ;  and  just  as  the  remainder  of  us  had  em- 
barked on  our  return,  a  hurried  message  came  for  Lieu- 
tenant Carter.  The  king  takes  great  intei'est  in  arms, 
and  desired  some  information  from  Mr.  Carter  upon  the 
subject. 

Having  separated  from  the  rest  of  our  party  to  make 
a  professional  visit,  on  my  way  down  the  river  I  met  the 
king's  i^rocession ;  he  was  attended  by  a  large  number  of 
barges,  in  a  line,  paddUng  with  great  rapidity,  and  with 
the  usual  loud  shouts.  In  the  king's  own  boat  were  several 
men  with  long  staffs,  from  which  were  streamers  of  white 
horse-tails ;  these  they  threw  into  the  air  and  brought 
down,  striking  violently  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  in 
time  with  each  shout  of  the  crew.  All  other  boats  on  the 
river  stopped  and  their  crews  crouched  down  to  the  seats. 

The  following  morning  the  second  king  sent  for  several 
officers  and  myself,  who  had  not  jDreviously  done  so,  to 
visit  him  privately.  Wc  were  first  conducted  to  a  large 
guard-room  or  armory.  Bright  muskets  were  neatly  ar- 
ranged around  the  walls ;  over  them  were  suspended  car- 
touch  boxes  and  knapsacks.  Several  men  were  busy  bur- 
nishing up  arms.     Every  thing  was  in  neatness  and  order. 

After  some  detention  at  the  guard-room,  a  messenger 


DIPLOMACY  INAUGURATED,      200 

came  to  conduct  us  to  tlie  king.  We  passed  througli  a 
gateway,  at  which  were  stationed  guards,  into  a  largo 
and  handsome  garden  of  fruit  and  ornamental  trees.  At 
specified  distances  through  this  garden  were  small  boards, 
on  which  were  painted  distances  for  target-shooting. 
Guards,  two  and  two,  were  walking  on  a  semicircular 
pavement  in  front  of  the  portico  of  the  palace.  We  as- 
cended a  flight  of  marble  steps  to  this  portico,  which  was 
on  a  level  with  the  second  story,  and  all  paved  Avith  mar- 
ble. From  this  we  entered  a  large  room,  and  passed  from 
one  end  of  it  into  a  royal  snuggery.  Here  the  king  re- 
ceived us  in  an  unostentatious  and  gentlemanly  manner. 
He  wore  a  rich  black  satin  jacket  over  an  embroidered 
skirt,  and  a  changeable  peach-blossom  sarong,  with  em- 
broidered slippers.  The  room  had  a  long  table  in  the 
centre  covered  with  a  maroon  silk  cloth,  and  over  it  hung 
a  punka.  On  each  side  of  the  room  were  hair-seat  sofas, 
and  over  that  on  one  side,  was  a  colored  lithograph  of 
Queen  Victoria,  Prince  Albert,  and  five  of  their  children 
— a  present  to  the  king.  Over  the  ojDposite  sofa  was 
hung  a  map  of  the  United  States  ;  and  at  each  side  of 
it  an  oil  portrait  of  Presidents  Washington  and  Pierce — 
recently  presented.  A  very  large  alabaster  vase,  and  sev- 
eral small  paintings,  were  among  the  decorations  of  the 
apartment ;  and  in  the  corners  were  correct  statuettes  of 
Napoleon,  Wellington,  Prince  Albert  and  Victoria,  mod- 
eled by  a  Siamese  artist,  after  engravings.  One  end  of 
this  aj^artment  opened  upon  a  smaller  one,  in  which,  neat- 
ly arranged,  were  his  electrical  and  philosophical  appa- 
ratus ;  and  one  side  of  it  opened  into  a  secluded  study,  in 
which  were  many  elegant  and  convenient  arrangements: 
chcjnical  apparatus  and  tests ;  a  silver  mounted  desk ; 
handsome  brass  field  bed,  and  brass,  moi'occo-covered 
rocking-chair.  In  this  study,  and  in  the  main  apartment, 
were  book-cases,  filled  with  standard  authors,  American 


210  8  I  AM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

ami  English  ;  in  general  literature,  history,  science,  the- 
ology and  military  affairs. 

lie  inquired  ]»articularly  after  my  friend  Dr.  Ruschen- 
berger,  of  the  United  States  Navy,  of  whom  he  had  a  dis- 
tinct recollection,  and  called  my  attention  to  a  volume  of 
the  Doctor's  works  in  his  library.  Upon  saying  I  would 
like  to  look  at  it,  he  took  it  from  the  library,  and  pulling 
around  the  rocking-chair,  said, "  Take  and  read  it,  and  make 
yourself  at  home,  and  look  at  it  as  long  as  yon  please," 
which  of  course  was  a  very  condescending  act  of  royalty, 
but  I  trust  had  more  value  as  the  act  of  a  gentleman. 
He  drew  a  seal  ring  from  my  finger  and  inquired  about 
the  device,  and  then  showed  me  a  fine  collection  of  his 
own,  as  also  a  gold  pencil-case  and  sword  scabbards  made 
by  his  aitists  in  the  palace.  Tea,  coffee,  fruit  and  cigars 
were  placed  upon  the  satin-covered  table,  and  the  king 
poured  out  for  us.  His  son,  George  "Washington,  a  young 
man  of  eighteen  years,  was  moving  about  the  apartments, 
but  whenever  he  came  in  the  presence  of  hia  father  stooped 
to  the  floor.  It  was,  however,  a  pleasant  fact  that  neither 
father  nor  son  used  the  disgusting  betel,  and  therefore 
had  wliite  instead  of  ebony  teeth. 

Whilst  dining  at  Dr.  Bradley's  after  my  return  fi-om 
the  second  king's,  I  received  a  message  from  the  somdetch 
to  visit  him.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Smith  of  the  Baptist  mission 
accompanied  me  as  interpreter.  When  the  somdetch  saw 
Mr.  Smith  with  me  he  seemed  startled,  and  stepping  up 
to  Mr.  S.,  asked  him,  as  this  gentleman  afterward  told 
me,  whether  he  might  regard  him  as  friendly  in  any  con- 
versation he  might  have. 

It  was  in  this  very  room,  and  with  the  somdetch  him- 
self, that  an  angry  conversation  occurred  with  Mr.  Bales- 
tiere,  defeating  his  attempt  to  make  a  treaty.  Mr.  Smith 
was  present  at  the  time,  and  had  not,  until  now,  been  in 
the  house  since. 


DIPLOMACY     INAUGURATED.  211 

After  a  short  professional  conversation,  the  somdetch 
made  mayy  inquiries  respecting  our  mode  of  rationing 
our  ships,  how  the  supplies  were  kept  up,  the  value  of 
each  man's  ration,  and  who  had  the  privilege  of  supplying 
themselves.  He  also  inquu-ed  where  the  coffee  used,  in  the 
United  States  was  grown,  and  whether  we  used  most  tea 
or  coffee.  He  inquired  the  amount  of  salary  paid  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  expressed  tlie  greatest 
surprise  that  it  should  be  so  little,  repeating  several  times 
that  it  was  impossible  it  could  be  so  little,  as  no  man,  he 
said,  could  maintain  such  a  position  upon  so  trivial  an 
amount.  I  was  not  at  all  annoyed  at  the  evident  con- 
tempt he  felt  for  our  chief  magistrate's  salary.  I  rather 
enjoyed  it,  as  I  thought  it  gave  me  an  opportunity  of 
reading  him  a  lesson  upon  republican  dignities,  and  I 
helped  the  contempt  to  settle  well  upon  his  mind. 

"  He  can  not  make  any  thing  by  his  office,"  said  the 
somdetch. 

"  Upon  the  contrary,"  I  replied,  "  he  may  leave  it 
poorer  than  he  entered  it." 

The  old  gentleman  looked  puzzled.  "  Now,  Mr.  Smith," 
I  said,  "tell  him  the  ablest  men  in  our  country  seek  the 
presidential  chair,  not  for  its  salary,  but  because  we  think 
it  the  highest  honor  on  eai-th  to  be  the  chosen  ruler  of  a 
nation  of  thirty  millions  of  peojile." 

He  immediately  asked,  "  How  old  is  the  United  States  ?" 

"  Eighty  years.  And  eighty  years  ago  it  had  only  the 
pi'esent  population  of  Siam." 

"  How  did  it  grow  to  be  so  large,  and  where  did  such 
vast  numbers  of  people  come  from  ?" 

"  By  liberality  and  toleration,  by  inviting  all  nations  and 
all  religions  into  the  country,  and  allowing  any  one  who 
would  to  improve  their  condition  and  develop  its  resources 
— by  avoiding  taxation  and  monopolies," 

He  handed  me  a  book,  and  asked  me  to  wi'ite  in  it  the 


212  SI  AM     AND     TIIK     SIAMESE. 

names  of  the  nations  from  Avliicli  our  population  is  derived. 
I  wrote  in  it  all  the  nations  of  Europe  and  the  East,  in- 
cluding the  Siamese,  and  as  I  banded  it  I  called  his  atten- 
tion to  his  own  nation,  saying  I  had  written  it  because  I 
knew  there  were  two  of  them,  the  Siamese  twins,  flirming 
in  one  of  our  southern  States.  He  seemed  much  amused 
by  this,  and  said  he  wanted  to  know  something  about 
those  boys. 

In  the  course  of  a  little  farther  conversation  he  asked 
which  bad  the  better  disposition  and  temper,  the  Commo- 
dore or  the  commissioner.  I  replied  that  I  had  known 
the  Commodore  many  years  and  the  commissioner  but  a 
few  months,  and  therefore  did  not  think  it  just  to  draw 
a  comparison  between  them.  The  old  gentleman  smiled, 
and,  turning  to  Mr.  Smith,  remarked,  "  A  very  appro- 
priate answer." 

He  asked  me  if  I  liked  curries,  and  what  time  I  break- 
fasted. "  Yes,  and  eight  o'clock,"  He  said  it  was  an 
eai'ly  hour,  but  he  would  send  me  two  such  as  they  es- 
teemed their  best. 

I  passed  a  very  pleasant  evening  with  this  fine-looking, 
intelligent,  shrewd  old  gentleman ;  and  although  he  was 
unadorned  by  any  garments  but  the  sarong  around  his 
loins,  I  had  the  evidence  that  evening,  from  some  things 
which  occurred  in  our  conversation,  that  he  was  a  person 
of  much  natural  delicacy  and  refinement.  He  has,  from 
honest  convictions,  been  opposed  to  innovation  and  inter- 
course with  foreigners.  Until  now  he  has  kept  aloof  from 
them,  but  finding  that  circumstances  are  against  his  old 
fogyism,  he  yields  gracefully.  During  the  twenty-seven 
years  that  the  missionaries  have  been  here  he  had  never 
been  in  one  of  their  houses,  but  dui'ing  onr  visit  he  called 
at  Mr.  Mattoon's,  and  took  tea  at  Dr.  Bradley's. 

When  I  took  leave  of  him  he  ordered  a  small  bag  of 
coffee  to  be  put  in  my  boat,  and  the  next  morning,  by 


DIPLOMACY     I  N  A  U  GUK  ATEU.  213 

breakfast-time,  a  train  of  servants  came  bearing  the  two 
tm-eens  of  promised  curries. 

Understanding  that  there  were  services  in  Chinese  to 
a  small  congregation  at  the  Baptist  mission,  I  walked 
around  there. 

The  congregation  consisted  of  about  thirty  men.  The 
services  commenced  with  singing  a  hymn,  after  which  a 
Chinaman  of  the  congregation  made  a  prayer,  and  an- 
other read  a  chapter  in  the  Bible  from  the  desk.  Mr. 
Ashmore  then  preached  a  short  sermon,  which  was  listened 
to  with  much  apparent  attention.  Mr.  Ashmore  has  the 
reputation  of  being  a  good  Chinese  scholar,  and  seemed 
to  use  the  language  as  if  he  were  thoroughly  imbued  with 
its  nature. 

The  room  in  which  the  service  was  held  was  upon  the 
thoroughfare,  and  a  man  was  stationed  at  the  door  to  in- 
vite in  all  passers-by.  Some  came  in  laughing,  some  with 
an  expression  of  earnest  curiosity.  One  of  these  chance 
auditors  was  on  his  way  to  market  with  a  basket  of  salad 
and  other  vegetables,  which  he  deposited  at  the  door. 
He  remained,  as  did  several,  an  attentive  hstener  until  the 
close  of  the  service.  Most  of  them,  upon  entering,  squat- 
ted immediately  upon  their  haunches  until  shown  to  seats. 

At  the  close  of  the  service,  in  the  interval  between  the 
first  and  second  service,  tea  Avas  handed  the  congregation. 

On  account  of  the  health  of  Mrs.  Ashmore,  she  and  her 
husband  are  about  leaving  for  China,  and  the  present  was 
the  last  service  they  would  attend  previous  to  their  de- 
parture. Much  feeling  was  exhibited  by  the  regular  con- 
gregation, the  members  of  which  came  up,  salaamed,  and 
shook  them  by  the  hands,  expressing  their  kindly  feeUngs 
and  regrets  for  their  departure. 

At  the  same  time  a  Siamese  service  was  being  held  at 
the  neighboring  house  of  Mr.  Smith,  aiiid  as  I  saw  the 
neatly- attired  servants  of  the  missionaries  going  into  the 


214  SI  Ail      AND     TUK     S  1  A  M  Ji  S  K  . 

worsliip,  I  tliouglit  that  much  had  been  gained  ia  the 
poetry  of  decent  dress  by  the  missionary  influence,  if 
nothing  more.  We  nations  who  are  fomiUarized  to  the 
artistic  arrangements  of  silk,  wool,  flax  and  cotton,  are 
all  like  the  old  lady,  who,  when  Christie  Johnstone  en- 
tered, "  a  beautiful  young  lady  in  a  black  silk  gown,  a 
plain  but  duck-like  plaid  shawl,"  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  my 
child,  if  I  had  seen  you  in  that  dress  I  should  never  have 
said  a  word  against  you." 

An  invitation  was  received  from  the  second  king  for 
the  officers  to  visit  him  privately.  Commodore  Arm- 
strong, in  assertion  of  our  national  character,  replied  to 
the  messenger  that  "  we  must  be  excused.  It  was  a  sa- 
cred day  with  Christians,  on  which  we  neither  visited  nor 
did  work,  but  attended  the  worship  of  God."  This  course, 
irrespective  of  the  acknowledgment  of  any  religious  obli- 
gation, was  a  wise  and  judicious  one.  It  asserted  our  na- 
tional character,  and  the  independence  of  principle.  Be- 
sides, our  country  had  hitherto  been  represented  only  by 
two  classes  of  persons — the  missionaries,  who  taught  the 
sanctity  of  the  Sabbath,  and  too  many  adventuring,  reck- 
less Americans,  who  behed  the  teachings  of  the  mission- 
aries and  of  aU  moral  precepts.  The  king's  messenger 
spoke  English,  and  replied  that  "  he  knew  enough  of  Sun- 
day to  know  that  we  would  not  go  when  he  was  sent  for 
us  ;  but  he  dare  not  say  '  No'  to  the  king,  and  he  hoped 
we  would  not  be  angry — the  king  had  great  reverence  for 
Americans." 

Into  the  scale  of  the  long-laboring  missionaries,  was 
thrown  the  weight  of  our  position  as  official  representa- 
tives of  our  government,  and  the  encouragement  it  might 
convey. 

The  mingling  of  Christian  prayers  and  hymns  with  the 
tinkling  of  air-ruog  bells  on  heathen  pagodas,  is  a  strange 
and  stai-tling  combination ;  but  it  was  presented  to  most 


DIPLOMACY     IXAUGUKATED.  215 

of  US  on  this  Sabbath  afternoon,  who  attended  church 
service  at  the  liouse  of  Rev.  Mr.  Mattoon.  His  house 
is  situated  directly  adjoining,  ahnost  on  the  ground  of,  a 
large  and  elegant  wat,  the  pagodas  or  pra-di-chis  of  which 
tower  above  the  roof  and  cast  their  shadows  upon  it. 
It  is  the  great  pagoda  or  j^ra-di-chi,  already  alluded  to 
as  the  loftiest  in  the  city,  and  as  being,  it  is  said,  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  high.  From  base  to  summit  it  is  of 
most  elaborate  finish.  The  shape  is  an  octagon,  with 
sides  of  about  eighty  feet  in  length, -and  built  in  retir- 
ing and  projecting  angles,  like  steps  laid  on  their  sides. 
Through  four  of  these  sides,  precipitous  steps  ascend  to 
galleries,  one  about  twenty  feet  above  the  other.  The 
outer  inclosure,  and  the  inner  wall  of  these  galleries,  are 
of  the  same  niched  or  receding  and  projecting  angles  as 
the  foundation.  The  outer  inclosure  is  of  heavy,  open- 
work porcelain  plates,  and  it  is  surmounted  at  each  outer 
end,  and  inner  point,  by  a  red  freestone  vase.  The  reced- 
ing niches  of  the  inner  wall  of  these  galleries  are  occupied 
by  grotesque  human  figures.  The  steeple,  as  it  springs 
above  each  of  these  galleries,  appears  to  be  supported  on 
rows  of  figures  of  Buddha  resting  on  one  knee  and  the 
foot  of  the  other  leg,  the  leg  being  at  right  angles  at  the 
knee.  The  arms  are  thrown  above  the  head,  supporting 
the  superincumbent  weight.  Above  every  gallery  is  a 
range  of  these  supporting  figures,  and  then  the  steejile, 
diminishing  in  size,  rises  for  some  distance,  wlien  it  takes 
the  form  of  four  niches  like  ornamented  windows,  and  in 
these  niches  stand  nearly  life-size  figures  of  triple-headed 
white  elephants  with  fantastic  riders.  Over  each  of  these 
niches  rises  a  graceful  pagoda  tower,  and  from  the  midst 
of  these  four  towers  rises  the  diminishing  terminus  of  the 
steeple  ending  in  an  oval  summit,  surmounted  by  a  liglit 
ornamental  decoration  of  gilded  metal.  At  a  proper  dis- 
tance off  from  the  corners  of  the  base  of  this  grand  pa- 


210  S 1  A  M      AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

goda  stand  four  smaller  ones  like  it — except  that  the 
niches,  instead  of  elephants,  have  horses.  On  the  sides 
between  these  smaller  towers  are  handsome  ornamental 
temples.  The  whole  of  these  structm-es  are  brilliant  with 
green  and  white,  and  red  and  gold,  representing  symme- 
trical figures,  flowers,  leaves,  etc. 

If  I  say  that  all  this  dazzling  bright  work  Avas  made 
of  porcelain  tiles,  molded  for  the  purpose,  the  dignity  of 
the  material  would  seem  to  be  consistent  with  the  ele- 
gance of  its  effect.  And  it  is  made  of  porcelain  flower- 
work,  but  it  is  the  fragments  of  broken  china  plates,  cups, 
and  saucers;  and  now,  I  dare  say,  word-enslaved  reader, 
you  lose  all  admiration  of  the  ingenuity  and  the  effect  of 
the  application,  in  your  contempt  for  the  humble  nature 
of  the  material.  Yet  these  structures  are  beautiful  in 
form  and  coloring.  In  architecture  they  are  studies. 
From  every  niche  and  point  hangs  a  gilded  bell,  and  from 
the  clapper  of  each  a  heart-shaped  plate  of  thin  gilded 
metal.  As  I  have  sate,  of  an  evening,  looking  at  the  lofty 
steeples  glowing  in  the  setting  sun,  and  the  breeze  came 
first  rustling  through  the  trees,  and  then  gently  tinkling 
these  gilded  bells,  it  was  the  realization  of  fairy  scenes, 
with  fairy  music  in  the  air. 

The  most  important  and  elegant  wat  in  the  city  is 
the  wat  Chi,  the  P'on-a-ram,  or,  as  it  is  generally  called, 
wat  Po,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  near  the  palace. 
The  lofty  and  bright-colored  roofs  of  its  temples  look 
like  the  buildings  of  a  separate  city.  Its  grounds  inclose 
beautiful  salas,  with  broad  stone  seats,  sui-rounded  by 
shrubbery.  There  are  miniature  mountains  and  artifi- 
cial lakes,  with  pet  alligators  in  their  waters.  Forests  of 
graceful  pra-di-chis  shoot  up  their  tapering  spires ;  con- 
spicuous among  these  are  three  in  a  line,  said  to  be  one  for 
each  king  of  the  present  dynasty. 

Colossal    human    figures,   hewn   out   of  granite,    and 


DIPLOilACY     IN^AUGURATED.  217 

dragons,  of  the  same  material,  guard  the  entrances.  The 
broad  green  leaves  of  the  sacred  lotus,  growing  in  vases, 
are  seen  in  every  direction. 

Within  these  grounds  are  ten  corridors  for  medical 
prescriptions.  In  niches  of  the  wall  are  figures  represent- 
ing various  affections,  and  against  the  columns  in  front, 
written  on  stone,  are  du'ections  for  cure. 

One  of  the  temples  of  this  wat  has  a  more  elegant  and 
substantial  finish  than  any  I  have  seen  elsewhere.  A 
range  of  substantial  buildings,  ^^'ith  four  entrances,  inclose 
a  large  square.  These  buildings,  with  bright-tiled  roofs  and 
fronts  of  open-work  green  porcelain  plates,  have  around 
their  whole  extent  ranges  of  gUded  idols,  of  life  size,  all 
precisely  aUke,  and  sitting  with  their  limbs  folded  under 
them.  From  each  corner  of  this  quadrangle  there  are 
projected  recesses,  also  filled  with  the  same  idols.  I 
estimated  about  four  hundred  in  all.  These  buildings  in- 
close a  large  square,  in  each  corner  of  which  is  a  pra-di- 
chi,  and  in  the  centre  a  large  temple.  The  pra-di-chis  are 
not  needle-like,  as  are  those  of  the  wats,  and,  instead  of 
being  covered  with  fragmentary  porcelain,  they  are  all 
faced  with  blue  and  white  marble.  A  wall  four  feet  high, 
of  the  same  material,  laid  up  in  panels,  surrounds  the 
temple.  Within  this  wall,  pillars,  four  feet  square  and 
fifty  high,  support  the  roof 

The  windo\\-s,  surmounted  with  ornamental  cornices, 
are  closed  by  heavy  carved  and  gilded  shutters.  The 
doors  are  ebony,  inlaid  with  mother-of-pearl.  The  floor 
of  this  building  is  paved  with  marble,  and  the  inside  pil- 
lars, the  walls,  and  ceiling,  are  entirely  covered  with 
crimson  paint,  and  gilding.  At  the  upper  end,  as  in  all 
these  temples,  is  one  gigantic  and  several  smaller  gilded 
idols. 

But  the  greatest  curiosity  of  this  wat  Po — a  wonder 
of  the  world — is  "  the  reclining  god." 

10 


218  SIAM     ANU     TUE     SIAMESE. 

When  I  entered  the  building  in  which  this  is  contained, 
I  saw  a  wall  of  gold  rising  before  me.  I  looked  up — and 
Btill  it  rose  to  near  the  roof  of  the  building  for  more  than 
forty  feet,  and  then  took  shape.  I  was  at  the  back  of 
the  idol  as  it  lay.  The  head  profusely  covered  with  stiff 
golden  ringlets,  and  the  shoulders  of  the  idol,  the  head 
resting  on  the  hand  and  bended  elbows,  were  before  my 
eyes.  I  was  behind  the  figure.  As  I  looked  along  down 
its  glittering  length,  it  stretched  away  a  human  figure 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long,  resting  upon  a  bed  of 
masonry  three  or  four  feet  high.  This  figure  is  built  of 
bricks,  smoothly  covered  with  plaster  and  thickly  gilt. 
The  soles  of  the  feet,  which  are  perfectly  smooth  and 
flat,  are  inlaid  with  mother-of-pearl. 

Of  the  various  wats  there  are  over  one  hundred  in 
Bangkok,  and  connected  with  them  are  armies  of  priests. 
Some  wats  alone  have  as  many  as  five  hundred,  and  there 
are  said  to  be  thirty  thousand  altogether.  Many  of  them 
are  mere  lads  or  novitiates.  They  all  wear  turmeric-dyed 
garments,  and  are  supported  by  contributions — not  char- 
ity— as  the  favor  is  suj^posed  to  be  done  by  the  recip- 
ients. In  the  early  morning  they  are  to  be  seen  in  their 
boats  upon  the  river,  and  passing  through  the  town  col- 
lecting their  dues.  The  remainder  of  their  time,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  routine  sei-vices,  is  passed  in  idle- 
ness. The  sacred  language  of  the  Buddhistical  literature 
and  services — the  Bali  or  Pali — is  entirely  different  from 
the  secular  language  ;  and  if  the  priests  did  not  make 
themselves  acquainted  vnih  it,  they  would  be  called  upon 
to  exercise  some  study  and  labor. 

There  is  not  the  least  reverence  in  their  manner  while 
in  the  temple  or  in  the  j^erformance  of  their  services. 
ChUdish  levity  and  inattention  mark  their  deportment. 
Frequently  upon  entering  their  temples  we  found  a  group 
cf  them  sitting  upon  the  floor  in  front  of  their  god,  one 


DIPLOMACY     INAUGURATED.  219 

reading  from,  their  sacred  books,  the  others  chatting  and 
smoking,  and  even  lighting  their  cigars  from  the  lamp 
burning  on  the  altar.  Upon  our  entrance  sometimes  the 
reading  would  stop,  and  all  comment  upon  us  and  laugh 
at  us ;  at  others  the  reader  would  go  on  while  the  re- 
mainder amused  themselves  with  us. 

These  talapoins,  or  priests,  ai-e  supposed  to  be  regulated 
by  a  code  of  one  hundred  and  forty  odd  precepts.  The 
following  specimen  will  show  the  nature  of  them,  and 
lead  to  much  doubt  as  Avhether  any  of  them  are  regarded : 

"After  twelve  o'clock,  M,,  eat  nothing.  Attend  no 
shows.  Listen  to  no  music.  Use  no  perfumes.  Wear  no 
jewels.  Contract  no  debts.  Look  at  nothing  as  you  pass 
along.  Touch  no  money.  Do  not  dig  the  earth.  Have 
nothing  to  do  Avith  state  affairs.  Do  not  laugh  loud  nor 
make  a  noise  with  the  feet.  Never  revile,  backbite  or 
threaten.  Do  not  cough  so  as  to  attract  attention,  nor 
extend  the  feet  as  you  sit." 

The  high  or  ruling  priest  is  api^ointed  by  the  king,  and 
every  man  is  obliged  to  serve  as  a  talapoin  at  least  three 
months.  He  quits  at  any  time  after  this  that  he  pleases ; 
but  if  he  enters  a  second  time,  it  must  be  for  life. 

Crowds  of  people  assembled  to  take  part  in  the  show 
and  spectacle  and  ceremonies  of  launching  a  ship,  and 
then  they  scatter,  few  thinking  of  the  storms  and  rocks, 
and  labor  which  are  before  her  future ;  or  they  gather 
around  a  balloon,  and  rend  the  air  with  cheering  shouts  as 
she  sjirings  into  the  upper  air,  and  as  the  first  cloud  shuts 
her  in,  each  goes  his  Avay,  leaving  her  to  expand  to  burst- 
ing in  the  regions  of  space,  or  to  come  safely  and  suc- 
cessfully to  earth  again  as  the  skill  or  luck  of  the  lone 
teronaut  may  detennine. 

Thus  had  we,  amid  music,  and  glitter,  and  pomp,  and 
spectacle,  performed  the  di-amatic  part  of  our  treaty- 
seeldng  enterprise,  and   on   Monday,  the  5th  of  May, 


220  SIAM     AND     TUE     SIAMESE. 

there  Avas  a  scattering  of  our  party.  The  Commodore 
aud  most  of  the  officers  returned  to  the  ship  that  the 
Captain  and  other  officers  might  visit  Bangkok,  and  now, 
the  show  being  over,  the  practical  work  of  negotiation 
was  to  commence. 

On  the  following  day,  "  The  Royal  Seat  of  Siamese 
Naval  Force"  returned,  bringing  Captain  Bell,  Lieuten- 
ants "Williamson  and  Bryant,  Sailing  Master  Bowen,  As- 
sistant Surgeon  Semple,  and  Captain's  Clerk,  Ashe,  I  now 
gladly  accepted  an  invitation  to  move  ujd  to  the  Rev, 
Mr.  Mattoon's,  where  Lieutenant  Lewis,  an  invalid,  was 
already  staying.  Instead  now  of  being  on  a  mud-bank, 
with  a  ditch  on  one  side  and  a  canal  on  the  other,  I  was  sur- 
rounded by  shrubbery,  flowers  and  verdure,  and  from  the 
porch  at  the  back  of  my  room,  I  looked  upon  the  grounds, 
temples  and  pagodas  of  the  wat  before  mentioned  ;  and 
from  that  in  front,  I  had  before  me  one  of  the  historic  build- 
ings of  Siam,  the  old  palace  built  by  the  monarch  who  aban- 
doned Ayuthia,  the  old  capital,  for  Bangkok.  The  story, 
briefly  is  this :  th&  jiresent  dynasty  obtained  the  throne 
in  1782.  Previous  to  that,  Siam  had  been  conquered  by 
the  Burmans,  It  was  hberated  by  a  half  Chinese  noble- 
man, with  so  many  names  that,  upon  the  authority  of 
the  present  khig,  I  give  him  only  that  of  Phya  Tarksing. 
This  noble  became  king  by  the  best  of  all  titles,  common 
consent,  and,  during  the  early  part  of  his  reign,  displayed 
great  wisdom,  liberality,  and  prudence  —  removed  to 
Bangkok  and  buUt  this  old  palace.  But  in  later  years  he 
is  accused  of  being  mad,  imagining  himself  a  god,  and 
committing  great  excesses  ;  thereupon  they  knocked  out 
his  brains  mth  perfumed  sandal-wood  clubs,  and  the 
grandfather  of  the  j^resent  king  ascended  the  throne. 
He  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  and  upon  his  death  the 
present  first  and  second  kings  were  the  proper  succes- 
sors, because  they  were  chaufas,  that  is,  royal  by  both 


DIPLOMACY    II^AUGU  RATED.  221 

father  and  mother  ;  but  beiDg  young,  they  were  displaced 
by  an  older  half-brother  (the  late  king),  royal  by  the 
father  only.  The  joresent  king,  thinking  his  claims  some- 
what detrimental  to  the  security  of  his  life,  took  refuge 
in  a  monastery  and  became  a  priest.  His  brother,  the 
present  second  king,  then  Prince  Noomfanor,  occupied 
this  old  palace,  and  being  then  in  the  freshness  of  his 
mechanical  and  scientific  pursuits,  had  the  following  En- 
glish sign  over  his  work-shop :  "  Clocks  and  watches 
repaired  here."  From  these  circumstances  it  is  seen  that 
the  throne  of  Siam  is  rather  in  an  unsettled  succession. 
The  office  of  second  king,  seems  to  be  for  the  purpose  of 
filling  the  superior  vacancy,  and  as  such  many  hold  it,  but 
the  first  kings  are  naturally  anxious  to  convey  it  in  their 
line.  Such  is  the  steady  purpose  of  the  present  king, 
and  the  rivahy  and  unsettled  claims,  it  is,  perhaps  scan- 
dalously said,  beget  bad  feeling  between  the  brothers,  be- 
sides oflfering  a  temptation  to  any  strong  politician  to 
seize  the  throne. 

When  the  late  semi-usurper  died,  the  nobles  assembled 
to  determine  who  should  be  his  successor.  One  claim- 
ant and  another  were  brought  forward  without  a  decis- 
ion, but  our  sagacious  old  friend,  the  somdecht,  and  his 
late  equally  sagacious  brother,  the  older  and  greater 
somdecht,  had  quietly  got  control  of  the  miUtary,  and 
remarked  to  the  assemblage  that  it  seemed  to  have  for- 
gotten the  rightful  heirs,  and  at  once  named  them  to  the 
throne,  and  oiFered,  themselves,  to  settle  any  objections 
to  such  an  arrangement. 

Tha  nobles  were  surprised  at  their  oversight,  and  at 
once  sent  to  the  monastery  for  the  talapoin,  and  to  the 
work-bench  for  the  watchmaker,  and  thus  they  became 
their  golden-feeted  majesties  of  Siam. 


222  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

XYIII. 

BUDDHISM. 

In  toucliing  upon  a  religion  which  influences  the  char- 
acter and  habits  of  four  hundred  millions  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  globe,  we  approach  a  subject  which  in  its 
magnitude  alone  should  win  some  attention  from  the  most 
superficial  observer ;  and  now,  amid  these  gorgeous  tem- 
ples and  sacred  groves,  those  who  have  this  volume  in 
hand  may  be  willing  to  learn  what  little  my  own  limited 
glance  at  the  subject  may  impart. 

In  our  general  idea  of  idolatry  and  heathenism,  we 
picture  to  ourselves  a  stupid  and  degraded  people,  bow- 
ing in  unmeaning  reverence  to  inanimate  images ;  and, 
although  this  may  be  the  practical  result,  we  too  much 
lose  sight  of  the  encouraging  and  elevated  elements  or 
influence  of  human  nature,  however  derived,  of  which 
that  idolatry  is  but  the  perverted  expression.  He  who 
claims  his  religion  to  be  essentially  one  of  chaiity,  owes 
some  respect  to  that  which  professes  to  embody  itself  in 
these  two  maxims, 

"  Whatever  happiness  there  is  in  the  world,  it  has 
arisen  from  a  wish  for  the  welfare  of  others." 

"Whatever  misery  is  in  the  world,  it  has  all  arisen 
from  a  wish  for  our  own  welfare." 

It  is  certainly  encouraging  proof  that  man  is  made  in 
the  image  of  his  Maker,  to  see  him,  without  the  light  of 
divine  revelation,  constructing  theories  of  moral  govern- 
ment, and  subjecting  whole  races  and  nations  to  those 
theories,  although  they  inculcate  the  rigid  suppression 
of  all  his  appetites,  desires  and  passions — the  subjection 
of  his  animal  to  his  spiritual  nature. 

In  this  struggle  and  in  its  results  are  seen  the  want  and 


BUDDHIS3I.  223 

the  necessity  of  revelation.  Man  struggles  with  all  his 
trembling  power  to  lift  himself  from  the  ruia  into  which 
he  has  fallen,  but  only  sinks  lower,  unless  God  takes  him 
by  the  hand. 

Professor  Salisbury,  of  Yale,  j^roposes  as  a  theory  of 
the  origin  of  Buddhism,  "  A  quickening  of  moral  feeling 
against  the  pantheism  of  the  Brahmins.  The  tendency 
of  the  Brahmin  philosophy  was  to  confound  the  Deity 
with  the  works  of  his  creation. 

"  There  was  a  sort  of  necessity,  in  opposing  pantheism, 
to  deny  all  attributes  to  God — to  conceive  of  simple  ab- 
stract existence  as  the  highest  Being." 

Upon  the  inference  of  such  an  abstract  non-existent 
Deity  is  formed  the  idea  of  the  highest  human  virtue, 
called  by  the  Buddhists  the  state  of  Nirvanha.  There 
being  some  doubts  as  to  whether  Buddha  was  an  his- 
torical personage  or  a  mythological  creation,  various 
'proofs  of  his  personal  existence  have  been  offered.  The 
period  of  his  birth  is  determined  to  have  been  about 
five  hundred  years  before  Christ.  Ho  is  said  to  have 
belonged  to  the  warrior  caste,  being  the  son  of  a  prince 
who  ruled  over  a  territory  in  the  north-western  corner  of 
the  province  of  Oude,  on  the  edge  of  the  Himalaya,  the 
distinctive  color  of  the  principality  being  probably  yel- 
low ;  it  has  become  that  of  the  badge  of  the  Buddhists. 

Several  Buddhist  nations  trace  the  origin  of  then-  re- 
ligion to  Ceylon ;  and  the  Buddhists  of  India  have  re- 
ferred to  that  island  the  origin  of  their  faith,  but  recent 
investigation  shows  that  its  primitive  seat  was  India 
itself. 

In  Nepaul,  written  in  Sanscrit,  have  been  discovered 
the  original  Buddhist  works,  from  which  those  of  Thibet 
Mongolia  and  China  have  been  translated,  and  thus  fixes 
upon  India  the  origin  of  Buddhism. 

The  scriptural  canon  of  the  Buddhists  has  three  divis- 


224  SI  AM     AND     TUE     SIAMESE. 

ions — the  Sutra,  Vinaya  and  Abhidharma.  The  Tripitaka. 
Tlie  Sutra  is  made  up  of  familiar  discoui-ses  attributed  to 
Buddha  himself,  is  composed  of  fundamental  maxims  and 
axioms,  and  is  divided  into  sections,  each  of  which,  accord- 
ing to  an  ai)i)arently  prescribed  form,  begins, 

"  This  was  what  was  heard  by  me  one  day  when  Bha- 
gavat  "U'as  in  such  a  place,  when  such  were  his  auditors," 
and  ends  thus,  "  When  he  had  finished  his  discourse,  all 
present  were  greatly  deUghted,  and  approved  his  doc- 
trine." 

The  Vinaya  is  devoid  of  these  formal  commencements 
and  terminations,  and  consists  of  legends  "illustrating 
ceremonial  duties  by  examples  of  conduct." 

The  Abhidharma  is  held  not  to  have  emanated  directly 
from  Buddha,  but  to  be  a  sort  of  digest  of  the  metaphys- 
ical views  involved  in  what  he  taught. 

As  examples  of  each  of  these  books,  Professor  Salis- 
bury, from  M.  Brunouf,  gives  the  following,  as  the 
simple  Sutra :  "  This  is  what  I  have  heard.  One  day 
Bhagavat  was  at  Vaisali  by  the  side  of  the  pond  called 
Markalahrada,  in  the  hall  called  Kutagara.  So  then, 
Bhagavat  having  dressed  before  noon,  taking  his  mantle 
and  pitcher,  entered  Vaisali  to  receive  alms ;  and  having 
gone  through  the  city  for  this  purpose,  he  took  his  re- 
past. When  he  had  eaten,  he  ceased  gathering  alms ; 
and,  having  put  up  his  pitcher,  and  arranged  his  mantle, 
repaired  to  the  place  where  stood  the  Tchapala-tchaitya, 
and  there  sought  the  trimk  of  a  tree,  and  sat  down  by 
it  to  pass  the  day." 

After  some  conversation  between  Buddha  and  a  dis- 
ciple called  Ananda,  and  various  terrific  natural  pheno- 
mena, earthquakes,  meteors,  a  burning  horizon,  Ananda 
finds  out  that  his  master  is  about  to  be  translated  to  the 
state  of  complete  extinction. 

"  Even  now,  O  Ananda,  Bhagavat  having  made  him- 


BUDDHISM.  225 

self  master  of  the  elements  of  life,  has  renomiced  exist- 
ence. 

Any  being  who  has  investigated,  comprehended,  prop- 
agated the  four  principles  of  supernatm'al  power  may,  if 
it  is  asked  of  him,  "  live  either  to  the  end  of  a  kalpa,  or  a 
whole  kalpa." 

M.  Brunouf  defines  the  four  grounds  of  supernatural 
power  to  be — 1st.  The  faculty  of  conceiving  the  abandon- 
ment of  every  idea  of  desire ;  2d.  The  abandonment  of 
every  idea  of  thought ;  3d.  Tlie  abandonment  of  every 
idea  of  energy  ;  4th.  The  abandonment  of  every  idea  of 
knowledge. 

"  From  all  which  it  results  that  the  Buddhists  attribute 
suiDernatural  faculties  to  him  who  has  reached  the  point 
of  imagining  that  he  has  renounced,  all  idea  of  desire,  of 
thought,  of  efibrt,  and  of  investigation,  or  meditation  — 
that  is,  to  him  who  has,  as  it  were,  disengaged  himself 
from  aU  mental  activity." 

The  following  quotation,  made  by  Professor  Salisbury, 
from  M.  Brunouf,  seems  to  present  more  fully  the  doc- 
trine of  Buddha.  The  devotees  to  whom  the  words  are 
addressed,  are  assembled  in  a  hall,  for  the  purpose  of 
hearing  them : 

"  All  compounds,  O,  devotees,  are  perishable  ;  they  are 
not  enduring,  they  can  not  be  relied  ujDon  with  confidence ; 
their  condition  of  being  is  change,  so  absolutely  that  it  is 
not  proper  either  to  think  of  or  to  please  oneself  with 
any  thing,  as  a  comi:)Ound.  Therefore,  O,  devotees,  here 
or  elsewhere,  when  I  shall  be  no  more,  must  the  laws 
which  exist  for  the  benefit  of  the  passing  world,  and  the 
happiness  of  the  passing  world,  as  well  for  its  benefit  and 
happiness  hereafter,  be  compiled  and  comprehended  by 
the  devotees,  and  through  their  instrumentality  be  pre- 
served, preached  and  comprehended  by  others,  in  order 
that  the  religious  law  may  continue  long,  be  received  by 
10* 


226  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

many  people,  and  be  everywhere  propagated,  until  it  shall 
have  been  completely  made  manifest  to  devas  and  to  men. 

"  Now,  O,  devotees,  there  are  laws  which  exist  for  the 
benefit  of  the  passing  world,  and  the  happuiess  of  the 
passing  world,  as  well  as  for  its  benefit  and  happiness 
hereafter,  which  must  be  compiled  and  comprehended  by 
the  devotees,  and  through  their  instrumentality  be  pre- 
served, preached  and  comprehended  by  others,  in  order 
that -the  religious  law  may  continue  long,  be  received  by 
many  people,  and  everywhere  i5roi:)agated,  until  it  shall 
have  been  completely  made  manifest  to  devas  and  to  men. 
These  laws  are  the  four  applications  of  thought :  '  1.  The 
body;  2.  Sensation;  3.  Thought;  4.  The  law.'  'The  four 
complete  renunciations,'  already  given  ;  '  the  four  princi- 
ples of  supernatural  power,  the  five  senses,  the  five  jDOwers, 
the  seven  constituent  elements  of  the  state  of  Buddha ; 
the  sublime  way  consisting  of  eight  parts,  i.  e.,  the  sub- 
lime course  of  life,  consisting  of  right,  or  just  and  regular 
right,  will,  efibrt,  action,  life,  language,  thought,  medi- 
tation.' 

"  Such  are  the  laws,  O,  devotees,  which  exist  for  the 
benefit  of  the  passing  world,  and  the  happiness  of  the 
passing  world,  as  well  as  for  its  benefit  and  happiness 
hereafter,  and  which  the  devotees,  having  compiled  and 
comprehended,  must  cause  to  be  preserved,  preached  and 
comprehended  by  others,  in  order  that  the  religious  law 
may  continue  long,  be  received  by  many  people,  and  be 
everywhere  jDropagated,  until  it  shall  have  been  com- 
pletely made  manifest  to  devas  and  to  men.  '  Let  us  go, 
Ananda,  towards  Kusigramaha.'  '  Be  it  so,  O  vene- 
rable,' rephed  the  respectable  Ananda,  '  to  Bhagavat.'  " 

As  a  specimen  of  the  Vinaya,  given  by  the  treatise 
from  which  we  are  quoting,  we  have  the  legend  of  a  cer- 
tain commercial  adventurer,  named  Purna,  who,  on  one 
of  his  voyages,  hears,  accidentally,  of  Buddha  and  his 


BUDDHISM.  227 

doctrine,  and  determines  to  become  a  devotee  and  recluse. 
He,  therefore,  holds  personal  communion  with  Buddha, 
and  addresses  him  in  the  following  words  :  "  Let  Bhaga- 
vat  consent  to  teach  me  the  law  briefly,  and  having  thus 
heard  it  from  the  lips  of  Bhagarot,  I  may  live  alone,  re- 
tired from  the  world,  in  some  desert  place,  exposed  to  no 
distraction,  with  mind  attentive,  intent,  and  collected. 
After  I  have  lived  retired  from  the  world  in  solitude,  ex- 
posed to  no  distraction,  with  mind  intent,  attentive  and 
collected,  might  I,  having  known  by  my  own  immediate 
cognizance,  having  seen,  face  to  face,  the  supreme  end  of 
the  life  of  a  devotee,  that  is,  the  Hfe  led  by  the  sons  of  a 
family,  when,  after  shaving  the  hair  of  the  head  and 
beard,  and  putting  on  yeUow  garments,  they  leave  home 
with  a  perfect  faith,  and  become  mendicants — might  I,  I 
say,  having  myself  received  the  investiture,  cause  others 
to  adopt  the  life  of  a  devotee  ?  I  am  no  more  subject  to 
the  condition  of  birth  ;  I  have  fulfilled  the  duties  of  the 
life  of  a  devotee  ;  I  have  accomplished  what  I  had  to  do ; 
I  know  no  other  state  than  that  in  which  I  am." 

Buddha  then  explains  to  Purna  the  doctrine  of  ISTirvanha. 
"  When  there  is  no  pleasure,  there  is  neither  satisfaction 
nor  complacence,  When  there  is  neither  satisfaction  nor 
complacence,  there  is  no  passion.  When  there  is  no 
passion,  there  is  no  enjoyment.  When  there  is  no  enjoy- 
ment, the  devotee,  O,  Purna,  the  devotee  who  is  affected 
neither  with  pleasure,  passion,  nor  enjoyment,  is  said  to 
be  very  near  to  Nirvanha.  There  are,  O  Purna,  sounds 
adapted  to  the  ear,  odors  to  the  smell,  tastes  to  the  sense 
of  taste,  feelings  to  the  touch,  laws  to  the  mintl,  all  which 
are  qualities  desired,  sought  after,  loved,  transporting, 
giving  rise  to  passion,  and  exciting  the  desires.  If  a 
devotee,  perceiving  these  qualities,  has  no  satisfaction  in 
them,  seeks  not  after  them,  feels  no  inclination  towards 


228  SIAM     AND     TUE     SIAMESE. 

tlieiu,  has  uo  complacence  in  them,  it  results  that  he  has 
no  jUcasure  — he  is  said  to  be  very  near  to  Xirvanha." 

The  following  are  specimens  of  the  Abhidharma:  "Again, 
O  Bhagavat,  the  Bodhisattva,  to  whom  it  belongs  to 
live  in  perfection  of  wisdom,  to  meditate  on  that  must  not 
stop  at  form,  nor  at  sensation,  nor  at  idea,  nor  at  con- 
ception, nor  at  consciousness.  "Why  so  ?  Because,  if  he 
stops  at  form,  he  lives  in  the  notion  that  form  exists  —  he 
lives  not  in  perfection  of  wisdom.  And  so  if  he  stops  at 
sensation,  at  idea,  at  conception,  at  consciousness,  he  lives 
in  the  notion  that  all  these  have  an  existence  —  he  lives 
not  in  perfection  of  wisdom.  Why  so  ?  Because  he  who 
lives  in  that  notion,  grasps  not  at  perfection  of  wisdom, 
brings  not  his  faculties  up  to  it,  does  not  attain  it.  Not 
attaining  to  perfection  of  wisdom,  he  will  not  reach  om- 
niscience, because  he  grasps  at  that  which  is  intangible. 
Why  so  ?  Because  to  one  in  the  state  of  perfection  of 
wisdom,  form  is  intangible  ;  and  the  same  is  true  of  sen- 
sation, idea,  conceptions,  consciousness  —  all  which  are 
things  intangible  to  one  in  the  state  of  jierfection  of 
wisdom." 

From  such  a  transcendental  and  unintelligible  an  ideal- 
ity— such  an  abstraction  into  annihilation — such  an  effoii; 
to  leajD,  not  alone  from  earth  and  corporeal  existence,  but 
even  from  s^jiritual  existence — has  naturally  grown  their 
wide  gardens  and  deep  solitudes,  their  banyan-tree  groves 
and  marbles  seats  and  temples,  with  the  lotus-leaved  lakes 
upon  which  they  are  placed.  And  from  such  an  attempt 
to  make  or  substitute  the  works  and  deeds  of  man  as  an 
atonement  for  the  corruptions  of  his  heart,  have  arisen 
the  waste  of  gilded  temples  and  idols,  the  wide-spread  beg- 
gary and  dead  stagnation  of  armies  of  Buddhist  monks. 

It  was  an  attemjjt  of  human  reason  to  avoid,  by  an 
earthly  existence,  the  penalty  of  Brahminical  transmigra- 
tion, and  to  reach  at  once  the  tranquilUty  of  Nirvanha. 


DIPLOMACY.  229 

In  the  words  of  Professor  Salisbury,  "  The  means  which 
Buddha  directed  to  be  used  for  obtaining  the  supreme 
good  were  chiefly  moral.  It  was  the  sum  of  his  teachings 
that  desire  must  be  loosed  from  all  objects  of  sense,  '  as  a 
drop  of  water  falls  off  from  the  lotus  leaf.'  He,  however, 
enforced  this  detachment  fi-om  sensible  objects  on  princi- 
ples which  involved  the  denial  of  reality  in  any  thing  ob- 
jective, and  he  required  his  disciples  to  j^ossess  themselves 
of  these  principles  by  deep  meditation,  as  a  condition  of 
their  reaching  Nirvanha.  Voluntary  poverty,  chastity, 
knowledge,  energy,  patience,  charity,  or  self-sacrifice  for 
the  good  of  others,  which,  in  the  course  of  time,  received 
the  name  of  the  '  six  transcendent  perfections,'  were  the 
special  duties  inculcated  by  the  new  teacher ;  and  it  is 
worthy  of  notice  that  a  pure  spirit  pervades  the  ancient 
Buddhist  legends,  which,  as  contrasted  with  the  moral 
laxity  of  those  of  the  Brahmins,  evinces,  at  least,  a  tem- 
porary reformation  of  morals  in  India,  effected  by  Buddha. 
It  can  not  be  doubted,  indeed,  that  the  more  elevated  idea 
of  the  social  jjosition  of  woman,  belonging,  as  we  have 
reason  to  suppose,  to  primitive  Buddhism,  must  itself 
have  exerted  no  little  influence  in  favor  of  a  superior  tone 
of  morality." 


XIX. 

DIPLOMACY  ;  THE  HAREM  IN  THE  HALL. 

It  was  seen  that  we  arrived  in  Siam  on  the  10th  of 
April,  and  it  was  not  until  a  month  later  that  the  first 
meeting  relative  to  the  treaty  took  place  between  the 
commissioner  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  and  those 
on  the  part  of  the  King  of  Siam.  So  long  as  the  British 
negotiator  was  present,  there  seemed  to  be  a  reluctance  to 


230  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

undertake  any  tiling  else,  and  various  were  the  causes  of 
delay. 

On  Monday,  the  12th  of  May,  we  thought  the  work 
would  begin,  but  then  it  was  found  there  had  been  a  mis- 
take in  the  translation  ^f  the  precept.  On  "Wednesday, 
14th,  Mr.  Parkes  was  to  have  an  audience;  on  Thursday, 
one  was  given  the  Portuguese  Consul,  who  had  been  wait- 
ing for  the  chance  more  than  a  year,  and  on  that  same 
day  Mr.  Parkes  took  his  departure.  The  next  day,  Fri- 
day, they  were  ready  for  us. 

The  commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  King  of  Siam 
■\yere : 

His  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  Krom  Hluang  Wongsa 
D'Hiraj  Snidh ; 

His  Excellency  Somdecht  Chau  Phaya  Param  Maha 
Bijai  Neate ; 

His  Excellency  Chau  Phaya  Sri  Suriwongse  Samaha 
Pra  Kallahone ; 

His  Excellency  Chau  Phaya  Rawe  Wangu  Maha  Kosa 
Dhipade,  the  Prah  Klan  ;  and 

His  Excellency  Chau  Phaya  Romraj,  the  Lord  Mayor. 

The  first  interview  was  at  the  house  of  our  friend, 
Prince  "Wongsa,  and  the  Pra  Kallahone  came  to  it  in 
some  annoyance.  He  had  been  ordered  by  the  king,  as 
the  other  nobles  had,  to  provide  a  wreath  of  flowers  for 
some  festival  on  Monday.  He  said  he  could  not  do  it  in 
time.  He  might  be  deprived  of  his  office  or  his  head, 
but  it  was  impossible,  and  he  must  abide  the  conse- 
quences. 

The  recently-made  British  treaty  was  read  over,  and,  in 
its  main  features,  adopted  as  the  model  of  ours.  That 
treaty  provides  that,  after  ten  years'  residence,  British 
subjects  shall  have  the  right  of  purchasing  and  holding 
property  in  the  city  of  Bangkok.     The  reason  assigned 


DIPLOMACY.  231 

for  requiring  this  time  is,  that  they  may  learn  something 
of  the  language  and  habits  of  the  people.  This  was  un- 
hesitatingly incoi-poratecl  in  the  British  treaty,  because 
the  time  was  altogether  prospective,  there  being  at  the 
time  no  known  British  residents.  But  the  commissioners 
were  startled  when  such  an  article  was  about  to  become 
part  of  an  Ameiican  treaty,  because  the  American  mis- 
sionaries, had  ab'eady  been  the  prescribed  time,  and 
more,  and  at  once  acquired  the  right  of  purchase.  The 
proposition  was  the  more  annoying  to  them,  because  of  a 
serious  difficulty  which  had  recently  arisen,  A  Siamese 
female,  in  the  family  of  one  of  the  missionaries,  had  bought 
a  piece  of  property  in  her  own  name,  but  for  the  use  of 
the  family  in  which  she  resided.  For  this  she  had  been 
imprisoned,  and  tried  by  the  Siamese  authorities,  but  sub- 
sequently acquitted,  the  property  remaining  with  her. 
The  commissioners  wished  to  make  this  ten  years'  resi- 
dence, as  applicable  to  Americans,  prospective  also ;  but 
it  was  argued,  upon  their  own  ground,  that  there  was  no 
reason  for  it,  as  the  required  knowledge  had  been  obtain- 
by  their  past  residence. 

An  article  of  the  British  treaty  provides  for  the  mutual 
protection  of  British  subjects  in  Siam,  and  Siamese  in 
British  teiTitory.  This,  the  Pra  Kallahone  very  justly 
remarked,  meant  something  between  the  English  and 
themselves,  because  the  English  had  neigliboring  terri- 
tory; but,  as  Siamese  were  not  likely  to  fall  into  the  United 
States,  there  could  be  but  little  reciiDrocity.  lie  there- 
fore suggested,  as  an  equivalent  for  this  protection  grant- 
ed our  people,  that  United  States  government  ships  shall 
be  required  to  protect  Siamese  vessels  against  piracy  and 
accidents  of  the  seas,  and  that  United  States  consuls 
in  foreign  ports  extend  their  protection  to  distressed 
Siamese. 

On  Saturday,  May  24th,  the  last  meeting  was  held,  and 


232  SIAil      AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

the  negotiations  complete,  to  the  great  deliglit  of  all  of 
US,  who  were  getting  very  tired  of  Siam,  especially  those 
who  were  confined  to  the  monotony  of  the  ship  in  the 
shoal  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Siam. 

When  all  the  papers  were  written  up  and  signed,  on 
the  29th  of  May,  the  important  fact  was  announced  to  the 
world  by  the  Siamese  batteries.  The  king  being  reUeved 
from  the  burden  of  the  business  matter,  was  desirous  of 
having  an  opportunity  of  continuing  his  hospitality  to  us, 
and  of  amusing  us.  But,  the  business  over,  we  took  our 
departure.  The  king  sent  the  United  States  commis- 
sioner the  following  letter : 

SUPERSCRIPTION. 

The  Siamese  royal  credentials,  given  in  hands  of  Hon- 
orable Townsend  Harris,  Esquire,  the  American  envoy  for 
receipts  of  the  letter  and  valued  presents  brought  from 
United  States  of  America,  and  complying  the  necessity 
concerned  therein  and  j^romised  for  royal  letter  in  answer 
and  proper  presents  on  other  opportunity : 

"  Somdecht  Pra  Paramendre  Maha  Mongkut.  By 
the  blessing  of  highest  and  greatest  superagency  of  uni- 
verse. 

"  The  King  of  Siam  and  Sovereign  of  all  tributary 
countries  adjacent,  in  eveiy  dh-ection,  namely,  Laos, 
Cambodia,  Kariangs,  and  most  of  Malay  Peninsula,  and 
professor  of  Pah  language  and  Buddhistical  literature, 
etc.,  etc.  To  all  and  a  singular  to  whom  these  presents 
shall  come  greeting : 

"  We  have  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  the  letter  of 
the  President  of  United  States  of  America,  whose  name 
is  Franklin  Pierce,  dated  City  Washington,  12th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1855,  handed  us  by  Hon.  Townsend  Harris,  Esq., 
who  is  the  envoy  appointed  to  make  a  new  treaty 
with  us,  as  amending  the  old  treaty  of  the   said  country 


DIPLOMACY.  233 

with  ours,  for  being  imiDroved  and  more  advantageous  to 
both  sides,  in  similar  manner  of  that  with  EngUsh  govern- 
ment just  done.  We  have  the  said  letter  perused  at  pres- 
ent of  our  supreme  court,  on  the  1st  day  of  May,  1856. 

"Agreeably  to  request  of  government  of  United  States 
of  America  we  have  counsel  of  whole  royalty  and  our 
counsel,  and  apj^ointed  one  of  our  royal  brothers,  three 
high  ministers,  officers  of  state,  who  were  totally  four  in- 
dividuals, ever  have  been  appointed  plenipotentiaries  in 
our  part  and  held  the  consultation  and  made  the  new 
treaty  with  Sir  John  Bowring,  English  plenipotentiary,  on 
last  yeai",  and  add  the  other  one  in  place  of  our  first  re- 
gent, who  had  been  one  of  the  five  plenipotentiaries  in 
last  year  and  lost  his  life  in  the  time  of  the  treaty  with 
EngUsh  was  just  sealed  and  signed  on  18th  April,  1855, 
so  our  plenipotentiaries  were  full  five  individuals,  invested 
with  full  power  to  make  the  new  treaty  of  friendship  and 
commerce  between  Siam  and  United  States  of  America, 
in  our  part  and  hold  consultation  with  Townsend  Harris, 
Esquire,  the  envoy  plenij^otentiaiy  of  United  States  of 
An.orica.  Their  names  and  offices  were  fully  mentioned 
in  the  form  of  the  treaty.  Although  they  were  appointed 
by  U8  on  very  early  part  of  current  month,  but  in  conse- 
quence of  their  business  in  being  our  royal  commissioners 
to  make  the  agreement — which  is  a  commentary  of  the 
treaty  with  EngUsh,  both  old  and  new — with  Mr.  Harry 
Smith  Parkes,  who  was  the  bearer  of  ratification  of  the 
ne^v^  treaty  from  England  for  exchange  here  and  prepare 
aU  its  provisions  after  that  agreement  was  done  on  late  of 
the  present  month.  They  have  held  the  consultation  with 
Townsend  Harris,  Esquire,  on  a  few  occasions.  The  Amer- 
ican envoy  has  formed  the  new  treaty  in  very  similar  man- 
ner of  that  of  English  and  wrote  in  duplicates  which  were 
concluded  by  signatures  of  both  Siamese  and  American 
plenipotentiaries,  on  the  29th  of  May,  185G. 


234  SIA5I     AND    THE    SIAMESE. 

"After  which  date  Townsend  Harris,  Esquire,  was  in 
greatest  liurrying  for  his  departure  on  31st  of  May  ;  we 
could  not  postpone  his  departure  for  a  few  days  more  in 
next  week  ;  we  regret  very  much  we  could  not  furnish 
l)roper  royal  letter,  in  answer  to  the  letter  addressed  us 
from  President  of  United  States  of  America,  and  already 
in  picking  and  preparing  the  suitable  royal  presents  for 
the  President,  who  have  goodness  enough  to  offer  us  his 
good  friendshii^,  remarked  by  his  valued  presents  de- 
signed to  us  on  this  occasion.  As  the  time  is  very  nar- 
row between  the  day  of  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  and 
departure  of  the  envoy,  therefore,  for  declaration  our 
being  sincerely  gratitude  to  the  President  of  United 
States  of  America  indeed,  and  for  our  further  j^romise 
that  we  send  our  royal  letter  and  suitable  royal  presents 
to  America  on  other  occasion  by  any  rate  when  good  oi> 
portunity  allow.  We  wi'ote  these  present  with  our  royal 
hand  and  seal,  with  gi-eat  seal  of  our  kingdom  and  our 
official  and  j^articular  seal  for  our  royal  standard,  to  be 
a  credentials  from  us  in  hand  of  Hon,  Townsend  Harris, 
Esq.,  the  envoy. 

"Given  at  our  court  of  Bangkok,  on  the  Saturday  12th, 
the  waning  moon  in  the  lunar  month  of  Wesakh,  in  the 
year  of  Quadruped  Serpent,  bearing  the  number  of 
Siamese  astronomical  era,  1218,  corresponding  to  the 
31st  May,  1856,  of  Christian  era,  which  is  the  sixth  of  our 
reign. 

"  S.  P.  MONGKUT, 
"  First  King  of  SiainP 

List  of  Presents  sent  the  Kings  of  Siam  by  the  United 
States  Government. 

Two  splendid  mirrors,  very  thick  plates,  measuring 
eighty  inches  by  fifty-six  inches,  with  frames  finely  carved 
out  of  solid  wood,  and  richly  gilt. 


DIPLOMACY.  235 

Two  superior  solar  chandeliers,  each  eight  lights,  or- 
molu gildings,  after  the  premium  models  of  the  World's 
Exhibition  in  1851.  Thirty-six  cut  glass  globes  for  the 
same.  Thirty-six  plain  glass  chimneys.  Seventy-two 
dozen  of  lamp- wicks. 

One  compoimd  achromatic  microscoi^e,  of  the  most  ap- 
proved form,  for  the  magnifying  of  minute  objects,  with 
three  eye-pieces  of  diiferent  powers. 

Four  sets  of  achromatic  object-glasses  of  different  fo- 
cusses,  double  mirror,  movable  stage,  diagonal  eye-piece, 
condenser,  dissecting  instruments,  box  of  objects,  and 
camera  lucida,  by  which  an  accurate  drawing  of  any  ob- 
ject viewed  in  the  microscope  may  be  taken. 

One  solar  microscope,  by  which  a  magnified  image  of 
any  object  is  represented  on  a  white  wall  or  screen  ;  has 
three  rack  adjustments,  three-inch  condensing  lens,  three 
object-glasses  of  different  magnifying  powers,  and  three 
objects  finely  prepared. 

A  small  box  containing  twelve  finely-prepared,  objects 
for  the  solar  microscope. 

One  small  box,  containing  twelve  finely-prepared  ob- 
jects for  the  compound  achromatic  microscope. 

A  book  descriptive  of  the  objects  most  interesting  for 
the  microscope,  with  many  plates. 

One  Sharpe's  patent  primer  rifle,  octagon  barrel,  globe 
sight,  No.  32  guage,  and  German  silver  mounted.  Two 
lbs.  of  Sharpe's  primers.     One  hundred  cartridges. 

One  rich-engraved,  extra  fine  finished,  richly-gilt  ivory- 
handled  Colt's  five-inch  pistol,  in  rich,  brass-bound  rose- 
wood case,  velvet-lined,  with  fine  extra  plated  flasks, 
molds,  wrench-key,  etc.,  best  percussion  caps,  powder, 
balls,  etc.,  complete. 

One  portrait,  life  size,  of  General  Washington. 

One  portrait,  life  size,  of  General  Pierce. 

One  Republican  Court,  or  Society  in  the  Days  of  Gen- 


236  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

eral  Washington,  illustrated  and  splendidly  bound,  scarlet 
Turkey  morocco,  full  gilt. 

One  "Webster's  American  Dictionaiy,  unabridged,  bound 
in  scarlet  Turkey  moi'occo,  full  gilt,  and  lettered,  "  Pre- 
sented to  His  Majesty  the  King  of  Siam,  by  Franklin 
Pierce,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America." 

One  colored  view  of  the  City  of  "Washington. 

One  colored  view  of  the  City  of  New  Orleans. 

One  colored  view  of  the  city  of  New  York  from  St. 
Paul's  Church. 

One  colored  view  of  the  City  of  New  York  from  the 
Bay. 

One  colored  view  of  the  City  of  Boston. 

One  colored  view  of  the  Senate  Chamber  at  Washing- 
ton. 

One  colored  view  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia. 

One  colored  \T.ew  of  "West  Point. 

One  colored  view  of  the  Crystal  Palace,  New  York. 

One  tinted  view  of  the  City  of  New  Orleans. 

One  view  of  an  express  railway  train. 

One  map  of  the  "United  States  from  Atlantic  to  Pacific 
Oceans,  on  rollers. 

After  the  ratification  of  the  treaty,  the  Kin^  of  Siam 
sent,  vnth  the  ratified  copy,  the  following  letter  to  the 
United  States : 

Letter  of  the  King  of  Siam,  loritten  by  him  in  English 
and  accompanying  tlie  ratified  treaty  icith  the  United 
States : 

"  This  copy  of  the  treaty,  regulations  and  tarifi"  have 
been  written  in  both  characters  and  languages  of  English 
and  Siamese,  and  signed  and  sealed  by  each  one  of  the  re- 
spective plenipotentiaries  of  both  sides,  was  received  from 


DIPLOMACY.  237 

Townsend  Harris,  Esquire,  by  our  officers  of  foreign  affiiirs, 
and  conveyed  here  and  delivered  to  us  for  perusal  and 
our  ajjprobation  and  ratification  and  signature  with  our 
royal  manual  signs  and  seals,  and  has  been  kept  in  this 
palace  waiting  to  exchange  with  the  ratified  treaty  re- 
turned from  Washington.  We  have  i^erused  and  seen 
and  understood  the  whole  contents  of  this  treaty,  and 
found  both  English  and  Siamese  very  nearly  similar  a  coj^y 
of  the  treaty  made  w4th  the  Enghsh  jDlenipotentiary,  only 
such  changes  in  names  of  persons  and  country  and  of 
form,  as  would  be  proper  in  a  treaty  between  Siam  and 
America.  We  consider  that  the  treaty  in  this  form  will 
be  favorable  for  foreign  merchants  who  will  trade  and 
reside  here,  but  we  were  waiting  i;pou  the  President  and 
Senate  of  the  United  States  of  America,  who  we  have  not 
yet  ascertained  will  like  all  the  articles  of  the  new  treaty, 
or  will  correct  some  portion,  for  what  consequence  we  hesi- 
tate our  ratification  before  the  present  time.  Having  waited 
twelve  months,  until  at  this  occasion  the  envoy  of  the  United 
States,  Charles  William  Bradley,  LL.D.,  has  arrived,  having 
credentials  that  he  was  sent  by  President  James  Buchanan, 
who  entered  upon  the  office  of  President  on  Wednesday, 
4th  of  waxing  moon,  in  the  lunar  month  of  Phagim,  being 
fourth  month  in  the  year  of  Drugin  (Dragon?)  in  1218 
of  Siamese  era,  corresponding  to  4th  of  March,  1857,  in 
the  place  of  Franklin  Pierce  who  sent  Townsend  Harris, 
Esq.,  to  negotiate  the  treaty  in  the  previous  year.  This 
American  envoy  has  come  at  this  time  for  the  purpose  of 
exchanging  the  treaty  ratified  and  sealed  with  the  seal  of 
the  United  States  for  the  one  kept  here,  and'will  be  scaled 
with  our  royal  seals,  and  signed  with  our  royal  hand. 
Mr.  Charles  Wm.  Bradley  has  informed  to  our  officers  of 
state  that  the  new  or  recent  President  and  Senate  of  the 
United  States  desire  to  amend  the  treaty  by  striking  out 
the  fifth  article  as  one  not  inserted  in  any  American  treaty 


238  SIAM     AND    THE     SIAMESE. 

with  otlicr  nations,  all  others  to  remain  in  force.  The 
Siamese  jn-incipal  officers  of  state  thought  the  fifth  article 
could  not  be  omitted,  as  it  was  found  in  the  treaties  with 
England,  the  ratification  of  Avhich  had  been  exchanged  in 
the  previous  year,  and  in  the  treaty  also  with  France  con- 
cluded in  ultimate  year  ;  and  if  it  should  be  struck  out  of 
the  American  treaty  it  must  also  be  struck  out  of  the  En- 
glish and  French  treaties,  and  the  foreign  merchants  would 
wander  through  the  country  without  passports,  and  some 
difticulties  Avould  arise,  and  the  Siamese  officers  could  with 
difficulty  protect  them,  and  the  seamen  would  desert,  and 
they  could  not  easily  be  retaken,  or  aj^prehended  accord- 
ing to  consider  requisite.  They  therefore  desired  that  it 
might  remain. 

"  Mr.  Bradley,  the  bearer  of  the  ratification,  has  replied 
to  our  officers  of  state,  that  the  ratification  of  the  President, 
with  the  fifth  article  struck  out,  had  already  been  placed 
after  the  end  of  the  treaty  which  he  had  brought  for  ex- 
change, as  the  President  and  Senate  had  trusted  that  the 
Siamese  government  Avould  consent ;  but  if  they  were  un- 
wilhng  it  should  be  repealed  altogether,  he  desired  they 
would  consent  to  strike  out  the  fifth  article  of  the  treaty, 
and  to  enact  it  as  a  seventh  regulation.  To  this  the  Siamese 
royal  commissioners  consented  and  agreed  to  be  guided  by; 
and  as  there  was  no  room  to  place  the  seventh  regulation 
at  the  close  of  the  previous  regulations,  the  Siamese  royal 
commissioners,  with  Mr.  Bradley,  the  American  envoy, 
and  Mr.  Stephen  Mattoon,  the  American  consul,  agreed 
to  such  regulation  to  be  a  new  agreement,  to  be  written 
in  both  Siamese  and  English  style,  and  signatured  with 
the  seals  of  the  Siamese  royal  commissioners  and  Ameri- 
can envoy  and  American  consul,  and  to  attach  it  to  the 
two  copies  of  the  treaty  about  to  be  exchanged  at  this 
time  ;  and  to  this  proposal  we  both  do  unanimously  agree 
with  great  pleasure,  and  respectfully  accept,  and  confirm 


DIPLOMACY.  289 

and  ratify,  for  ourselves,  our  heirs  and  successors,  by 
l^lacing  our  royal  jiromise  that  we  will  sincerely,  faithfully 
and  carefully  perform  and  observe  all  things  here  to  be 
fulfilled  and  connected  with  all  articles  of  the  treaty,  reg- 
ulations and  tariff;  and  wiU  recommend  our  officers  of 
state  to  be  always  circumspective  in  prohibiting  every 
individual  and  party  in  our  subjects,  that  none  should  vio- 
late or  transgress  the  same  in  any  manner,  as  far  as  in  our 
ages  and  reign,  according  to  our  power  and  ability  to 
govern  the  people  of  this  half  civilized  and  half  barbarous 
nation,  being  of  various  races,  languages,  religions,  etc, ; 
for  which  nations  we  are  still  afraid  that  any  one  indi- 
vidual or  party  among  such  nations,  being  very  ignorant 
of  civilized  and  enlightened  customs  and  usages,  may  mis- 
understand any  thing  or  things  contained  or  expressed  in 
the  treaty,  and  do  according  to  his  or  their  knowledge, 
which  may  be  contradictoiy  to  some  clauses  of  any  articles 
of  treaty  ;  and  yet  we  will  observe  accurately,  and  com- 
mand our  officers  of  state  to  correct  the  wrong  as  soon  as 
possible,  whenever  the  American  consul  might  complain 
to  our  officers  of  state  directly,  with  whom  our  officers  of 
state  will  be  joined  in  correction  and  adjustment  of  such 
matter  of  complaint.  If  there  be  different  understanding 
between  the  American  consul  and  our  officers  of  state,  we 
will  cause  our  ministers  to  hold  conference,  asking  true 
decision  by  consultation  of  United  States  government  and 
the  Siamese  council,  or  every  member  of  our  government 
liere  unanimously  concluded  that  this  minor  country  shall 
have  refuge  under  the  grace,  mercy  and  indulgence  of 
supeiior  powerful  major  country,  such  as  the  United 
States. 

"  We  now  have  embraced  the  best  opportunity  to  have 
made  and  exchanged  the  treaty  of  friendship  and  com- 
merce with  United  States  of  America,  and  Ave  shall  be 
very  glad  to  esteem  the  President  of  the  United  States,  at 


240  SIAil      AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

present  and  in  future,  as  our  respected  friend,  and  esteem 
the  United  States  as  united  in  close  friendsHip,  as  we  knoAV 
that  the  government  of  the  United  States  must  ever  act 
with  justice,  and  is  not  often  embroiled  in  difficulties  with 
other  nations  ;  and  if  the  treaty  of  friendship  between  the 
United  States  and  Siam  has  been  long  j^reserved  in  har- 
mony and  peaceful  manner,  it  will  ever  be  the  occasion  of 
the  highest  praise  among  the  Siamese  people.  And  now 
for  greater  testimony  of  unanimous  fulfilling  of  willfulness 
of  whole  Siamese  government  in  this  treaty,  Ave  have 
caused  the  great  seals  of  Siamese  kingdom,  with  its  whole 
dependencies,  to  be  pressed  on  first  page  of  this  document, 
one  in  the  shape  of  the  divine  elephant,  bearing  three  heads 
called  ayerrubats,  and  the  other  to  be  affixed  in  figure  of 
the  Nazayn  angel  of  four  arms,  standing  on  Grudh  named 
Grudhabah ;  and  we  have  also  signed  with  our  royal  hands, 
and  sealed  Avith  our  respective  official  and  standard  royal 
seals,  both  impressing  and  affixing  in  the  suitable  parts 
therein. 

"  Given  at  our  royal  pyramidical  residence,  named  Pra 
Tinang  Dusit  Moha  Prasad,  in  the  grand  royal  palace 
Ratnekosindr,  Bangkok  for  exchanging  to-day,  on  Mon- 
day the  8th  of  waning  moon  of  the  seventh  month  (Temar 
month  of  Jesh),  being  of  the  year  of  the  Quadruplicate 
Serpent,  answering  to  the  15th  of  June,  1857,  which  is 
the  seventh  of  our  reign. 
"■  "  SuPEEinis  Rex, 

"  SiAMEXsimr, 

"  S.   P.   R.   MOXGKUT, 

"The  First  King  of  Siam  and  Dependencies,  reigning  2223  days  ago." 

While  w^e  were  waiting  the  tediousness  of  diplomacy, 
we  were  invited,  on  Friday,  May  9th,  by  the  first  king,  to 
attend,  at  the  palace,  a  laokon,  or  ballet  operatic  perform- 
ance, in  which  all  the  performers  are  females. 


THE     HAREM     IN     THE     HALL.  241 

The  king's  boats  were  sent  for  us,  and  we  "were  borne 
from  the  landing,  iii  palanquins,  upon  men's  shoulders,  to 
the  place  of  performance.  This  soon  became  apparent 
from  the  sounds  of  native  music  which  greeted  our  ears, 
and  the  throng  of  natives  and  files  of  soldiers  surrounding 
it.  The  theatre  was  a  large  and  lofty  shed,  closed  only 
at  one  end,  the  roof  supported  upon  posts  wrapped  in  red 
cotton  cloth,  and  roofed,  or  rather  ceiled  with  the  same 
material  of  a  blue  color.  The  floor,  of  smooth  j^laster  or 
cement,  was  matted.  Our  host,  his  golden-footed  majesty — 
where  is  he  ?  Along  the  whole  length  of  the  left  side  of 
the  building,  at  an  elevation  of  several  feet,  was  an  apart- 
ment or  stage,  shut  in  to  the  height  of  three  feet  by  a 
fronting  of  gold  and  crimson  cloth.  From  the  lofty  ceil- 
ing to  this  floor  hung  curtains  of  cloth  of  gold,  but  now 
drawn  back  upon  their  cords.  In  the  centre  of  this  apart- 
ment, close  to  its  front,  and  slightly  elevated  above  it,  sat 
the  king.  He  wore  a  tunic  of  white  muslin,  a  purple  sash 
crossed  his  body,  from  the  shoulder,  and  a  yellow  one 
around  his  waist,  a  silken  sarong  of  course,  and  on  his 
head  a  purple  velvet  cap  with  a  single  large  jewel  in  its 
front.  Some  of  his  higher  and  favorite  nobles  were  lying 
on  the  same  platform  with  himself — we  could  just  see 
their  heads — and  others  lay  crouched  on  the  floor  below 
the  platform,  the  same  that  was  occupied  by  ourselves  and 
the  performers. 

Near  the  ascent  to  the  king's  apartment  was  a  rich  gold 
palanquui  throne,  over  the  scat  of  Avhich  was  thrown  a 
crimson  silk  cloth  with  In'oad  golden  borders.  Just  out- 
side of  the  theatre  stood  another  gilded  palanquin,  but, 
unlike  the  first,  roofed  and  curtained  ;  near  this  Avere  two 
Arabian  horses,  richly  caparisoned,  and  with  cloths  of 
silk  and  gold  thrown  over  their  saddles,  and  reaching 
almost  to  the  ground  on  cither  side.  The  closed  end  of 
the  building  contained  the  apartments  of  the  ijerformers; 

11 


242  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE, 

at  the  opposite  end,  directly  fronting  the  stage,  and  on  a 
level  with  it,  chairs  ■were  placed  for  our  accommodation. 
Seated  on  the  ground  along  the  whole  line  of  the  theatre 
to  our  right,  were  the  musicians,  one  band  of  male  and 
one  of  female  iierformers,  the  latter  much  the  larger,  and 
sung  the  story  which  was  carried  on  by  the  actors  in 
dumb  show,  only  occasionally  a  few  words  passing  be- 
tween the  actors  on  the  stage.  The  performance  was 
going  on  at  the  time  of  our  arrival,  and  soon  after 
taking  our  seats  a  party  of  twenty  girls,  fi'om  eight  to 
eighteen  years  of  age,  came  upon  the  stage.  These  rep- 
resented the  prince  of  the  play  and  his  attendants.  The 
gorgeousness  of  costume  was  brilliantly  magnificent  and 
defies  description,  either  in  general  effect  or  in  detail.  It 
was  the  realization  of  the  imagery  of  eastern  faiiy  tales, 
bewildering  the  imagination  of  our  youth.  If,  in  an  at- 
temjited  description,  I  speak  of  sUken  cloth  of  gold,  al- 
though I  mean  one  surface  of  the  ghttering  metal  laid  on 
a  silken  fabric,  it  implies  many  hues  and  figures,  from  the 
bright  metallic  lustre  of  a  smooth  surface,  to  figured  tex- 
tures which  by  changing  folds  and  the  varied  gleaming  or 
the  light,  gave  tints  from  almost  silvery  whiteness,  through 
various  depths  of  yellow,  to  orange-red,  and  yet  all  gold. 
I  will  attemjDt  to  describe  in  detail  the  costume  of  the 
girl  representing  the  prince,  and  it  was  in  no  resjiects  more 
elegant  than  any  of  her  attendant  train.  Her  head  was 
covered  with  a  conical  golden  crown,  ghttering  with  jew- 
els, many  of  which  were  diamonds.  A  jacket  of  dia- 
mond-shaped figured  purple  silk  and  gold,  fitted  tightly 
to  her  body ;  the  arms  were  closely  covered  with  sleeves 
woven  in  narrow  rings  of  alternate  light  and  darker 
shades  of  gold,  and  about  six  inches  of  the  lower  part  of 
the  arm  were  covered  with  heavy  golden  bracelets ;  the 
fingers  were  loaded  with  jewels,  and  terminated  by  arti- 
ficial nails  of  gold  diminishing  to  wires  six  inches  long. 


THE     HAEEM     IX     THE     HALL.  243 

curved  back  toward  the  wrist.  The  sarong  or  petticoat 
was  of  a  delicate  rose-colored,  changeable  silk,  with  nar- 
row lines  or  bars  of  gold  thread.  It  passed  in  fuU  folds 
around  the  lower  part  of  the  body,  and  Avhere  it  fell 
apound  each  limb  like  the  loose  leg  of  short  trowsers,  had 
a  figured  border  six  inches  wide.  Her  ankles  and  feet 
were  bare.  A  sash  of  figured  gold  cloth,  twelve  inches 
broad,  passed  tightly  around  her  waist,  one  end  fell  like 
an  apron  in  front  of  her  person,  and  the  glitter  of  this  was 
reheved  by  a  centre  of  dark  green  silk,  supporting  a  fig- 
ure of  gold  embroidery,  and  the  ends  had  a  border  of 
three  oval  spaces  of  maroon-colored  silk,  with  central 
figures  of  gold.  The  other  extremity  of  this  sash  was 
divided  into  two  narrower  slips  of  figured  gold  cloth,  one 
hanging  down  the  outside  of  each  limb.  A  collar  of  gold 
and  diamonds  passed  around  the  neck  and  hung  low 
on  the  shoulders  and  breast,  being  fastened  in  front  by  a 
rosette  of  diamonds.  With  the  exception  that  they  wore 
much  prettier  golden  and  jeweled  coronets  instead  of  the 
conical  crown,  and  the  variety  of  colors  of  their  silks,  all 
the  costumes  of  this  bevy,  representing  males,  were  simi- 
lar to  those  I  have  described.  Some  of  the  sarongs  were 
maroon,  some  purple,  some  dark  green,  but  all  richly  em- 
broidered in  gold,  and  all  the  silks  were  of  that  heavy, 
solid,  cloth-like  thickness  which  is  characteristic  of  the 
richest  and  most  costly  material.  In  the  train  of  the 
princess  of  the  play  there  was  a  corresponding  number 
of  attendants,  dressed  in  like  manner,  but  all  having,  in 
addition,  a  rich  mantle  which,  falling  below  the  breast  in 
front,  passed  over  the  shoulders  and  extending  almost  to 
the  ground  behind.  Most  of  these  mantles  Avere  of  nar- 
row stripes  of  cherry,  green  or  purple  silk  and  gold.  Two 
of  them  were  entirely  covered  with  gold  embroidery, 
glittering  in  changeable  hues.  The  face,  neck,  arms,  and 
feet  of  these  girls — all  exposed  parts  of  the  person — were 


244  SIxVM     AND     TUE     SIAMESE. 

rubbed  -with  a  mixture  of  some  white  powder  and  turme- 
ric, and  the  effect  of  this  coloring  was,  strange  to  say, 
not  unpleasant,  giving  them  a  softer,  Avhiter,  and  more 
delicate  yellow  than  the  natural  complexion.  The  per- 
formance consisted  mainly  in  a  slow  dancing,  or  rather 
l^osturing,  sometimes  of  a  single  person,  and  sometimes  of 
the  entire  company,  in  time  with  the  music,  and  the  sing- 
ing by  the  musicians,  of  the  romance  the  actors  were  illus- 
trating. The  measured  motions  of  the  limbs  and  body, 
though  monotonous  and  little  vai'ied,  were  not  ungraceful, 
and  the  grouping  of  these  sj)lendid  costumes,  and  glitter- 
ing crowns  in  regular  figures,  or  in  lines,  sometimes  sit- 
ting on  the  floor,  sometimes  standing  the  whole  length  of 
the  stage,  was  dazzling  in  its  effect. 

I  observed  closely,  during  this  performance,  the  king 
and  the  Pra  Kallahone.  The  former  has  been  charged 
with  giving  too  much  of  his  time  to  these  dissipations  to 
the  detriment  of  the  interests  of  the  kingdom,  but  he 
seemed  now  to  give  no  attention  to  the  scenes  of  the 
stage ;  but  to  be  busily  engaged  in  writing,  or  in  business 
consultations  with  the  nobles  about  him.  The  prime  min- 
ister was  lying  on  the  floor  beneath  the  throne,  on  the 
same  level  with  us.  Much  of  the  time  he  lay  with  his 
face  to  the  wall  and  his  back  to  the  actors,  and  when  fac- 
ing them  his  intelligent,  calm,  and  mysterious  countenance 
was  turned  toward  our  party  with  a  thoughtful  and  al)- 
stracted  expression,  and  I  fancied  he  was  looking  at  the 
hand-writmg  upon  the  wall,  and  reading  the  future  of  liia 
country. 


EOYAL     SIAMESE     LITEEATUEE.  245 

XX. 

ROYAL   SIAMESE    LITERATURE. 

The  following  account  of  the  illness  and  death  of  the 
queen,  wife  of  the  present  first  king,  has  some  interest, 
being  written  by  the  king  himself,  and  showing  his  attain- 
ments ;  the  condition  of  medicine  in  Siam,  and  also  the 
nature  of  certain  Siamese  customs : 

An  account  of  tlie  most  lamentahh  illness  and  death  of  Her  young 
and  amiable  Majesty  the  Queen  Sotnanass  Waddhanawathy, 
the  lawful  royal  consort  of  His  most  excellent  and  gracious  Maj- 
esty Somdetch  Pra  Paramender  Maha  Mongkut,  the  reigning 
King  of  Siam. 

This  princess  was  born  on  the  21st  of  December,  1834, 
and  was  the  only  daughter  of  his  royal  highness  Prince 
Zaks  Nanugun,  who  died  in  the  beginning  of  June,  1855, 
six  months  after  the  birth  of  this  princess,  whereupon  his 
late  gracious  Majesty  Somdetch  Phra,  Xang  Klau  C.  Y. 
H,,  took  great  compassion  on  the  orj^han  princess,  and 
took  her  to  the  grand  royal  palace,  adopting  her  as  his 
own  daughter.  She  was  placed  under  the  care  of  her 
aunt,  her  royal  highness  the  Princess  Welasee,  who  also 
died  during  her  niece's  infancy.  After  this  event,  the 
late  king  had  exceeding  great  compassion  on  his  adopted 
child,  and  made  a  royal  mandate  endowing  her  with  all 
the  estate  and  retainers  of  her  natural  father,  as  also  with 
those  of  her  royal  aunt.  He  also  conferred  upon  her  all 
the  honors  and  privileges  belonging  to  the  highest  rank 
of  royal  children,  and  gave  her  the  title  of  Phra  Ong 
Chaii  Somanass  Waddhanawathy.  At  the  ceremony  of 
cutting  off  her  hair,  she  being  then  twelve  years  of  age, 
her  adopted  father  made  a  royal  procession  suitable  to 
princesses  of  the  highest  royal  birth,  who  are  entitled 


246  6IAM     AKD     THE     SIAMESE. 

Chau-fa,  or  cliildreu  of  royalty  by  a  princess  of  royal 
birtli.  The  ceremony  of  the  hair's  cutting  of  their  pres- 
ent majesties,  the  first  and  the  second  kings,  were  also 
celebrated  in  the  same  manner,  they  both  being  of  the 
highest  royal  birth.  This  princess  was,  therefore,  re- 
spected by  a  great  many  jjeople,  both  native  and  foreign, 
and  by  all  the  adjacent  tributary  countries  during  the 
late  reign.  On  the  demise  of  his  majesty  Somdetch  Phra 
Nang  Klau,  C.  Y.  II.,  the  late  King  of  Siam,  and  acces- 
sion to  the  throne  of  his  successor,  Somdetch  Phra  Pa- 
ramender  Maha  Mongkut,  the  reigning  king,  the  whole 
council  of  royalty  and  nobility,  seeing  that  this  princess 
was  without  a  protector,  had  great  compassion  on  her, 
and  unanimously  proposed  that  she  should  be  united  by 
marriage  and  coronation  to  his  majesty,  the  i*eigning 
king,  as  his  royal  consort. 

Not  a  single  dissenting  voice  was  heard  at  this  propo- 
sition, as  they  knew  that  his  majesty  had  just  returned 
fi-om  the  priesthood,  (which  he  had  avowed  for  twenty- 
seven  years)  and  had  no  lawful  consort  by  whom  he 
might  expect  an  heir  to  future  royal  authority.  The 
ceremony  of  the  royal  nuptial  and  coronation  took  place 
on  the  2d  of  January,  1852,  his  majesty  being  then 
forty-eight,  and  the  queen  sixteen  years  of  age.  Since 
she  was  married  and  crowned  in  full  dignity  as  queen- 
consort,  she  was  respected  both  in  private  and  in  public, 
and  was  treated  with  the  highest  honor  by  the  whole 
Siamese  nation,  and  often  received  respectful  comj^li- 
ments  and  presents  from  the  adjacent  tributary  com- 
munities, and  even  friendship  presents  from  certain  noble 
persons  and  gentlemen  of  foreign  countries,  who  were 
formerly  correspondents  of  his  majesty,  the  j^resent  king, 
so  that  she  was  well  and  happy  for  six  months.  But  alas ! 
it  was  the  pleasure  of  Superagency  (God,  merits  and  de- 
merits, and  demons,  or,  according  to  different  faiths)  that  it 


EOYAL     SIAMESE     LITERATURE.  24V 

should  be  otherwise  ;  an  unfortunate  event  befel  her,  and 
she  became  ill  of  a  fatal  disease,  which  at  first  appeared 
curable  by  all  the  j^hysicians,  both  foreign  and  native, 
they  ijrofessing  it  to  be  only  a  natural  consequence  of  her 
condition.  On  the  25th  of  June,  1852,  the  disease  first 
showed  itself  by  great  pains  in  the  umbilical  region,  ac- 
companied by  vomiting  ;  at  this  time  the  physicians  then 
observed  that  the  disease  was  in  the  abdomen.  After  the 
eclipse  of  the  moon  of  the  1st  of  July,  she  seemed  to  re- 
cover her  health ;  but  alas !  after  forty  days  her  former 
painful  suffering  returned,  until  the  18th  of  August,  when 
her  disease  became  ser'ious.  On  the  21st  of  August  (at 
1  p.  M.)  her  majesty  was  safely  delivered  of  a  male  royal 
infant.  Her  royal  son  was  alive,  but  very  feeble,  crying 
and  giving  the  usual  signs  of  infantile  life.  A  great  many 
persons  of  royalty  and  nobility  were  immediately  assem- 
bled with  the  officers  of  the  palace,  and  welcomed  the 
royal  heir's  arrival  by  birth,  with  the  highest  order  of 
music,  and  other  demonstrations  of  joy.  They  made  its 
bed  in  the  golden  seat,  covered  with  white,  and  sur- 
rounded with  valuable  royal  weapons,  a  book,  pencil ; 
and  in  accordance  with  the  ancient  royal  custom,  Alas, 
the  weak  royal  infant  only  lived  three  hours  after  its 
bulh !  it  died  at  4  p.  m.,  on  the  same  day,  its  life  being 
but  a  brief  one. 

The  officers  then  secretly  carried  away  the  body,  letting 
her  majesty  believe  that  it  was  well,  and  in  another  room, 
as  her  former  sickness  was  still  on  her.  That  same  night 
her  majesty  became  worse,  and  vomited  so  frequently 
that  she  almost  died  from  the  attack.  The  Siamese  offi- 
cial physicians  tried  to  revive  her,  but  they  could  not  suc- 
ceed to  stop  the  painful  vomiting  even  for  half  an  hour. 

His  royal  highness  Prince  Krom  Illuang  Wongsa 
Dhiraj  Sniddh  administered  some  homeopathic  medi- 
cines, from  the  effect  of  which  her  majesty's  frequent 


248  SIAM     AXD     THE     SIAMESE. 

vomiting  was  relieved,  and  she  had  the  happiness  to  have 
a  good  sleep,  at  four  or  five  o'clock,  a.  m.  Next  day, 
the  2:3d  of  August,  his  majesty  the  king,  and  his  royal 
highness  the  Prince  Krom  Hluaug  Wongsa  Dhiraj 
Sniddh,  and  a  great  many  princes  and  princesses,  with 
the  servants  of  her  majesty,  consulted  with  several  Siam- 
ese physicians,  and  took  the  coimsel  of  all  who  were  in 
her  service,  as  to  placing  her  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Brad- 
ley, one  of  the  American  physicians  now  in  Siam,  who  had 
been  called  to  consult  with  them.  Dr.  Bradley  treated 
her  majesty's  disease  accordmg  to  the  homeopathic  mode, 
which  has  but  lately  been  introduced  into  Siam  by  him- 
self. His  system  of  applying  medicines  is  not  so  much 
believed  in  by  the  Siamese  as  it  ought  to  be. 

It  was  thought  necessary  to  indulge  her  majesty  a  lit- 
tle in  her  desire  to  follow  the  Siamese  mode  of  being  con- 
fined. She,  accordingly,  lay  alongside  of  a  fire  (the 
universal  practice  of  Siamese  females  after  child-birth),* 
although  Dr.  Bradley,  and  a  few  believers  in  his  system 
of  medicine,  who  were  present,  were  of  a  contrary  opin- 
ion; and  her  majesty  was  then  placed  under  the  homeo- 
pathic mode  of  treatment  of  Dr.  Bradley.  Under  his 
care,  her  majesty  was  a  little  relieved  fi-om  her  frequent 
attacks  of  squeamishness,  vomiting,  and  fever. 

She  had  frequent  attacks  of  this  disease  for  seven  or 
eight  days,  until  the  28th  of  August,  being  the  seventh 
day  after  the  death  of  her  royal  son,  Prince  Chau-fa  (an 
honored  appellation  applied  to  children  and  persons  born 
of  the  king  by  the  queen,  or  of  any  high  prince  by  a 
pricenss  of  the  rank  of  Chaufa,  or,  in  other  words,  born 
of  parents  that  are  both  Chau-fa),  when  her  majesty  hav- 
ing known  of  the  death  of  her  royal  son. 

Their  majesties  (the  king  and  queen)  then  prepared 
valuable  presents,  and  ofiered  them  to  an  assembly  of 
*  14  clays  usually. 


ROYAL     SIAMESE     LITEEATURE.  249 

Buddhist  priests,  and  scattered  balls,  containing  coins,  to 
the  people,  in  every  direction,  from  her  majesty's  resi- 
dence. This  money  was  prepared,  as  customary  on  such 
events,  for  offerings  at  the  death  of  her  majesty's  son, 
Prince  Chau-fa.  Since  the  29th  and  30th  of  August, 
however,  her  majesty,  unfortunately,  hecame  worse,  and 
discharged  from  her  stomach  large  quantities  of  bile,  of  a 
dark  and  yellowish  color,  and  accompanied  by  fever.  Dr. 
Bradley  then  begged  of  the  pi-inces  and  nobles  that  her 
majesty  should  withdraw  from  the  fire,  and  entirely  fol- 
low his  mode  of  treatment.  This  was  complied  with,  and, 
being  entirely  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Bradley,  at  length 
her  majesty  seemed  slowly  to  recover.  The  vomiting 
was  less  frequent,  and  the  fever  disajopeared,  but  she  con- 
tinued gradually  taking  less  food,  and  thereby  became 
very  feeble  and  thin.  In  this  state  lier  majesty  continued 
until  the  11th  of  September,  when  her  feet  appeared  to  be 
swollen,  and  other  bad  symptoms  appeared,  which  much 
alarmed  her  friends  and  relatives.  They  consulted  to- 
gether, and  resolved  to  try  a  Siamese  physician.  In  fact, 
her  majesty  had  not  much  belief  in  Dr.  Bradley's  system 
of  medicine,  as  he  was  a  foreigner,  and  she  would  not 
credit  the  statements  of  Dr.  Bradley,  and  others  that  be- 
lieved in  homeopathy,  that  a  few  drops  of  spirits  in  a 
spoonful  of  water  would  cure  her  disease.  Her  majesty, 
therefore,  tried  again  a  Siamese  physician,  who  adminis- 
tered to  her  medicines  after  the  Siamese  mode.  But  she 
got  no  better  under  his  treatment,  and  even  grew  worse, 
so  much  so  that  no  Siamese  physician  would  take  her  case 
in  hand.  Dr.  Bradley  was,  therefore,  sent  for  again,  who 
treated  her  after  his  own  mode.  While  under  the  treat- 
ment of  the  Siamese  physicians,  the  vomiting  of  black  and 
yellow  matter  continued,  accompanied  by  painfil  affec- 
tions in  her  breathing,  etc.  These  attacks  occurred  seven 
or  eight  times  a  day. 

11* 


250  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

Since  the  return  of  Dr.  Bradley  to  attend  her  majesty, 
up  to  the  IGth  of  September,  her  majesty  seemed  to  be  a 
little  better,  as  the  vomiting  of  the  black  and  yellow 
substance,  supposed  to  be  bile,  became  less  frequent,  and 
other  bad  symptoms  being  less  than  when  she  was  under 
the  treatment  of  the  Siamese  physicians ;  but  alas !  her 
majesty's  weakness  and  refusal  of  sustenance  yet  pre- 
vailed on  account  of  her  continued  vomiting.  There 
was  not  a  single  day  passed  without  severe  vomiting, 
which  obstinately  refused  to  yield  to  any  remedies.  After 
the  lapse  of  a  few  days,  Dr.  Bradley  had  not  succeeded 
in  making  her  vomiting  less  frequent,  the  intervals  be- 
tween her  attacks  of  vomiting  now  became  less  distant, 
and  unfavorable  symptoms  appeared,  and  her  face  and 
body  presented  a  yellow  appearance.  In  consequence  of 
this,  she  was  again  put  under  the  care  of  official  Siamese 
physicians ;  but  they  refused  to  take  her  case  in  hand. 
Upon  this  a  proclamation  was  issued,  offering  a  reward 
•  of  many  peculs  of  money  to  any  one  who  could  restore 
her  majesty  to  her  former  health.  Since  the  time  her 
majesty  became  worse  under  the  hands  of  Dr.  Bradley, 
her  pulse  became  very  quick  and  violent,  and  on  the  27th 
of  September  she  became  delirious.  On  the  same  day  a 
royal  proclamation  was  issued  to  the  people  of  the  city, 
offering  a  reward  of  two  peculs  of  money  to  any  one  who 
could  make  her  better.  An  old  Siamese  official  physician 
then  came  to  examine  her  majesty,  and  wished  to  try  his 
skill,  and  was  therefore  permitted  to  see  her.  On  seeing 
her  majesty  he  misunderstood  her  complaint,  and  attrib- 
uted her  disease  to  mismanagement  during  child-birth  or 
time  of  confinement,  because  she  did  not  lay  near  the  fire. 
From  his  statements,  it  appeared  that  he  would  cure  her 
majesty  in  a  short  time,  and  got  the  consent  of  her  ma- 
jesty's relatives  and  friends,  and  even  that  of  his  majesty, 
to  try  his  skill.     But  alas,  two  or  three  hours  after  drink- 


EOTAL     SIAMESE     LITEEATUEE.  251 

ing  three  or  four  spoonfuls  of  his  aromatic  medicines,  her 
majesty  became  so  delirious  that  she  could  not  speak  so 
correctly  as  before,  and  occasionally  cried  out  with  a  loud 
noise,  and  became  much  agitated,  and  continually  mov- 
ing to  and  fro.  His  majesty  then  immediately  rejected 
the  old  ignorant  and  covetous  physician,  and  again  called 
Dr.  Bradley,  who  attended  her  majesty  till  her  death,  of 
which  she  appeared  to  be  soon  a  victim.  The  doctor 
restored  her  by  homeoi^athic  medicines,  but  his  success 
was  only  partial,  and,  on  the  1st  day  of  October,  her 
majesty's  eyes  became  strangely  fixed,  and  she  remained 
silent,  refusing  medicines  and  nourishment.  On  this  day 
it  was  observed  that  there  was  an  abscess  which  must 
have  occurred  probably  (early,)  and  had  been  broken  by 
the  violent  agitations  of  her  body  during  her  illness;  pus 
and  matter,  mixed  with  blood,  found  an  outlet  at  her 
umbilicus ;  it  continued  to  dischax'ge  freely  and  by  de- 
grees for  days.  Her  majesty,  by  means  of  some  remedies 
and  applications  in  various  ways,  was  restored  to  con- 
sciousness, although  she  was  manifestly  failing  in  strength, 
until  the  6th  of  October.  During  this  interval  his  ma- 
jesty the  king  and  her  majesty's  kindred  brought  many 
gifts  of  yellow  cloths,  etc.,  to  her,  and  induced  her  to 
present  them  as  her  last  offering  to  the  priesthood,  and 
to  receive  the  sacred  instructions  for  her  last  meditation 
from  the  high  priests,  according  to  Buddhistical  tenets — 
in  which  her  majesty  placed  her  faith.  Her  majesty  then 
offei'ed  these  cloths,  etc.,  to  many  hundreds  of  Buddhist 
priests,  and  received  their  instructions  and  benedictions, 
though  laboring  under  painful  attacks  of  vomiting,  and 
which  caused  her  daily  to  lose  her  strength,  Alas,  on  the 
6th  of  October,  there  was  indubitable  evidence  that  the 
abscess  was  also  discharging  its  contents  (internally). 
After  this  for  three  days  her  majesty  sunk  rapidly,  and 
breathed  her  last  on  the  10th  of  October,  1852,  at  six 


252  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

o'clock,  r.  M.,  greatly  lamented,  and  be-\vailed  by  all  the 
royal  household. 

Her  majesty's  remains  were  bathed  and  adorned  with 
golden  ornaments  used  for  the  dead  according  to  the 
royal  custom,  in  the  full  style  and  dignity  of  a  queen,  and 
wrapped  in  many  folds  of  white  cloth.  Her  remains  were 
then  placed  in  the  golden  urn  or  vessel  called  Phra-Kate, 
with  a  queen's  crown  on  her  head,  and  then  covered 
with  the  cover  of  the  golden  urn.  On  the  same  night 
her  majesty's  remains  were  removed  from  the  queen's  resi- 
dence to  the  "  Tusita  Maha  Prasad,"  a  great  and  richly 
gilded  hall  of  the  grand  palace,  and  placed  in  the  same 
apartment  in  which  the  royal  remains  of  his  late  majesty 
laid  during  thirteen  months,  from  April,  1851,  to  May, 
1852. 

Her  late  majesty's  remains  now  lie  there  in  state,  sur- 
rovmded  with  all  the  insignia  of  rank,  until  the  burning 
takes  place  in  about  four  or  five  months  more,  and  will 
be  attended  with  considerable  ceremonies  suitable  to  her 
late  majesty's  exalted  rank.  This  event  will  perhajDS  take 
jDlace  about  March  or  April  proximo.  Her  most  amiable 
and  youthful  majesty  the  late  Somanass  Queeu  Waddhana- 
wathy  was  the  beloved  and  adopted  royal  daughter  of  his 
majesty  Somdetch  Phra,  Xang  Klau,  C.  Y.  H,,  the  late  King 
of  Siam,  since  her  infancy.  At  the  thirteenth  year  of  her 
age  she  was  dignified  to  the  highest  rank  of  royal  daugh- 
ter, called  Chau-fa,  and  became  the  queen  consort  of  his 
present  majesty  Somdetch  Phra  Paramender  Maha  Mong- 
kut  Phra  Chau  Klau  Chan  Yu  Hud  on  the  commence- 
ment of  this  present  year,  and  lived  happily  with  her 
much-esteemed  and  lawful  royal  husband,  the  King  of 
Siam,  for  only  seven  months,  from  January  to  July,  and 
from  the  10th  of  August  to  the  10th  of  October,  being 
sixty-two  days  and  nights,  her  majesty  was  ill,  making 
nine  months  and  a  few  days  that  she  lived  as  queen  con- 


BOYAL     SIAMESE     LITERATURE.  253 

sort.  Her  majesty's  death  happening  iu  her  youth  and 
amiableness,  and  after  such  great  prosperity  and  happi- 
ness wliich  she  enjoyed  but  for  a  short  time,  was  much 
lamented  and  bewailed  by  his  majesty,  by  the  people  of 
the  city,  and  by  foreigners  of  tributary  countries.  After 
her  majesty's  death  all  the  Siamese,  Chinese  and  Ameri- 
can physicians  concluded  that  there  was  great  reason  to 
believe  that  the  foundation  of  the  disease  which  destroyed 
the  valuable  life  of  her  majesty  must  have  been  laid  some 
time  previous  to  her  espousal  to  his  majesty,  the  present 
king,  from  her  majesty's  being  uncommonly  stout  for  a 
person  of  her  age,  and  having  suddenly  become  thin  and 
emaciated,  and  being  attacked  at  the  same  time  with  a 
severe  fit  of  coughing ;  but  the  symptoms  of  her  late 
majesty's  disease  did  not  show  themselves  till  the  25th 
of  June,  as  has  already  been  stated.  As  her  late  majesty 
was  an  orphan,  and  became  the  adopted  daughter  of  the 
late  king,  by  whom  she  was  made  to  mherit  the  Avhole 
estates  and  retinues  of  her  late  royal  parents  and  aunt, 
and  being  the  only  daughter,  she  has  no  half  or  full 
brothers  and  sisters,  and  has  consequently  no  heu'S.  The 
whole  of  her  property  and  large  amount  of  money,  to- 
gether with  her  annual  income  or  private  fortune,  will  be 
placed  in  the  royal  treasury  till  after  the  funeral  cere- 
monies are  concluded. 

His  majesty,  the  present  king,  has  concluded  that  a 
portion  of  her  late  majesty's  great  property  and  money 
will  be  expended  to  refit  the  sacred  places  and  monas- 
teries belonging  to  her  late  royal  father  and  aunt,  and  an- 
other portion  will  be  expended  in  the  construction  of  a 
sacred  building  within  the  new  wall  of  this  city,  and  will 
be  called  Soraonapwihari.  The  remainder  will  be  em- 
ployed in  the  royal  treasure  for  the  use  of  tlie  public.  As 
there  are  many  of  her  late  majesty's  acquaintances  in 
almost  every  province  of  Siam  and  the  adjacent  coun- 


254  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

tries,  and  among  tlicm  are  even  some  jjersons  of  foreign 
countries,  of  China,  Batavia,  Maulmain,  etc.,  who  were 
or  are  the  intimate  friends  and  agents  of  his  majesty,  and 
became  her  friends  for  his  majesty's  sake,  his  majesty 
therefore  commanded  that  an  account  of  the  iHness  and 
death  of  her  late  majesty  be  prepared  in  Siamese,  to  be 
issued  by  proclamation  throughout  the  kingdom  of  Siam 
and  adjacent  countries ;  and  also  to  prepare  an  account 
of  the  same  in  the  English  language,  to  be  printed  and 
sent  to  all  her  English  friends,  so  that  they  may  know  ac- 
curately about  her. 

Printed  in  hthographic  press  at  the  royal  printing  of- 
fice, 2 1st  December,  1852,  which  is  the  second  year  of 
the  reign  of  his  Siamese  majesty  Somdetch  Phra  Para- 
mender  Maha  Mongkut. 


XXI. 

AN    UNCOMMON     COMMMONER. 

Happexixg  to  be  making  some  inquiries  respecting  the 
laws  of  Siam,  Mi\  Smith  told  me  there  was  an  imperfect 
copy  of  the  laws  printed  in  the  Siamese.  The  written 
laws  filled  many  volumes  of  the  peculiar  black  slate  pa- 
per books,  and  any  one  requiring  a  copy  was  necessarily 
compelled  to  employ  a  writer  to  make  it,  and,  at  the  reg- 
ular charge,  the  cost  was  over  one  hundred  dollars. 

A  young  Siamese  conceived  the  idea  of  compiling  the 
laws,  and  having  them  printed  so  that  the  whole  code 
would  cost  but  about  five  or  six  dollars,  and  thus,  while 
benefiting  his  country,  derive  some  pecuniary  advantage 
for  himself  He  had  completed  the  printing  of  one  vol- 
ume and  a  half  of  the  two,  which  was  to  compose  the 
work,  when  the  king  became  jealous  of  such  knowledge 


AN     UNCOMMON     COMMONER.  255 

being  accessible  to  foreigners  and  seized  tbe  whole  work, 
severely  censuring  the  enterprising  young  author  and  de- 
stroying his  chance  of  reward.  The  jjresent  king,  with 
better  judgment  and  greater  liberality,  had  restored  the 
printed  volumes,  and  by  the  sale  of  these  the  expense  of 
the  pubhcation  had  been  in  some  degree  met. 

I  expressed  the  wish  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  a 
person  of  so  much  energy  and  foresight,  and  Mr.  Smith 
called,  on  the  evening  of  May  the  9th,  to  take  me  to  his 
house.  We  found  him  at  an  out-of-the-way  place,  a  little 
removed  from  the  back  of  the  river.  Having  been  ap- 
prised of  our  coming  he  received  us  very  graciously,  and 
conducted  us  to  an  upper  i-oom  of  his  house,  where  tea 
and  cakes  were  placed  upon  the  table.  To  appreciate 
this  man,  the  fact  must  be  considered  that  the  only  lan- 
guage he  understood  was  his  Siamese,  and  in  that  lan- 
guage there  are  no  works  uj^on  any  of  the  sciences.  In 
the  commencement  of  our  conversation,  I  paid  him  the 
Httle  compliment  of  saying  I  had  called  on  him  in  con- 
sequence of  my  resj^ect  for  his  enterprise  in  compiling 
laws,  and  for  the  acquirements  I  understood  he  had 
made.  He  said  he  had  been  working  like  a  blind  man 
with  great  difficulty,  and  that  all  he  knew  he  owed  to 
the  missionaries ;  that  he  had  been  taunted  by  his  coun- 
trymen with  wishing  to  be  a  Christian,  and  charged  with 
laboring  for  knowledge  of  no  use  to  him ;  but  when  they 
found  it  was  of  some  use,  they  were  willing  to  avail  them- 
selves of  it,  and  to  learn  of  him  to  do  the  same  things. 
Upon  one  occasion  the  king,  in  a  public  audience,  handed 
him  some  percussion  caps  and  asked  him  to  make  some. 
He  did  so,  and  this  was  a  convincing  proof  of  the  utility 
of  his  studies.  Several  of  his  children  were  sitting  around 
the  table — boys  from  six  to  fifteen  years  of  age.  I  re- 
marked to  him  that  having  had  so  much  difficulty  him- 
self, I  supposed  he  would  have  his  children  taught  En- 


256  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

glish,  in  wliicli  were  so  many  books  upon  all  knowledge, 
to  be  had  at  little  cost.  He  said  he  was  anxious  to  do  so 
if  it  were  possible,  and  thought  they  ought  to  send  some  of 
their  young  men  to  the  United  States  to  be  educated  ; 
he  had  rejieatedly  spoken  to  the  king  about  it,  and  some- 
times he  seemed  to  regard  the  proposition  favorably,  but 
nothing  had  been  done.  His  countrymen  were  not  dis- 
posed to  receive  his  suggestions  favorably,  because  they 
thought  he  assumed  upon  the  little  knowledge  he  had. 
The  Siamese  were  generally  so  ignorant  themselves,  they 
did  not  understand  the  advantage  of  knowledge  for  their 
children.  I  intimated  that  therefore  it  was  the  more  in- 
cumbent upon  him,  who  knew  better,  to  give  his  children 
every  possible  advantage.  Whilst  he  admitted  this,  he  re- 
marked there  was  little  inducement  to  any  to  improve  them- 
selves, where  there  were  no  inducements  to  exercise  their 
thoughts  and  their  talents.  He  thought  the  true  way 
to  make  the  nation  would  be  to  draw  forth  the  talent 
of  the  common  peoj^le,  and  elevate  those  who  showed 
any,  and  this  they  might  learn  from  their  own  history. 
When  the  kingdom  had  been  conquered  by  the  Burmans 
and  was  liberated  by  the  half  Chinese  who  became  king, 
he  consulted  with  all  persons  who  had  ability,  and  found 
hi^  best  advisers  among  the  common  people,  and  these  he 
promoted  to  the  stations  for  which  their  talents  fitted  them, 
and  thus  accomplished  the  independence  of  his  country. 

He  has  arranged  himself  quite  a  laboratory  and  makes 
many  chemicals — distils  alcohol — nitric  acid.  I  happened 
to  complain  of  the  annoyance  of  my  lucifer  matches,  that 
in  this  damp  weather  scarce  one  would  light. 

"  If  they  were  prepared  from  the  '  chloras  potassa'  you 
would  not  have  so  much  trouble,"  was  his  reply. 

He  then  gave  me  a  Chinese  tinder-box,  which  he  re- 
marked tvas  rude  and  simple,  but  one  of  the  best  modes 
of  procuring  a  light.     A  small  roll  of  Chinese  paper, 


AN  UNCOMMON  COMMONER.       257 

charred  at  one  end,  and  the  end  of  it  passed  into  a  bam- 
boo tube.  The  charred  end  protruded  from  the  bamboo- 
tube  is  lighted  by  flint  and  steel  and  extinguished  by  be- 
ing drawn  back  into  the  tube.  The  advantage  it  has,  in 
common  with  all  similar  contrivances,  over  the  matcli,  is 
that  it  is  readily  lighted  in  the  open  air,  and  the  advan- 
tage over  similar  methods  is,  that  a  puff  of  breath  upon 
the  ignited  end  lights  it  into  a  blaze.  He  also  showed 
me  a  means,  in  common  use,  of  getting  a  light  by  atmos- 
pheric compression — the  piston  working  in  a  small  tube  of 
buffalo  horn.  He  spoke  of  the  various  modes  of  j^rocur- 
ing  lire,  in  use  among  the  savage  nations,  and  said  the 
double-convex  lens,  or  sun-glass,  was  of  comparative  re- 
cent date  in  Siam.  About  the  time  of  its  introduction, 
a  military  officer  was  sent  to  conquer  some  jungle  tribes, 
and  took  a  sun-glass  with  him.  He  induced  these  peoj^le  to 
believe  that  by  the  favor  of  celestial  beings  he  could  draw 
fire  from  heaven  at  will,  and  obtained  such  an  ascendency 
over  them,  that  he  used  their  support  to  revolt  against 
the  kingdom  and  make  himself  independent,  being  after- 
wards conquered  with  much  difficulty. 

He  alluded  to  the  proneness  of  ignorant  people  to  be  im- 
posed upon  by  such  acts,  and  said  there  was  a  prevalent  con- 
viction among  their  own  people  that  a  man  might  become 
invincible,  and  be  imjiregnable  against  the  power  of  knives 
or  bullets,  neither  of  which  could  wound  him.  He  first 
began  to  doubt  the  truth  of  this  when  he  "  was  of  the 
age  of  that  boy,"  jjointing  to  a  son  of  twelve  years,  and 
yet  he  was  puzzled  by  the  doubt,  for  every  one  else  be- 
lieved it.  He  commenced  by  inquhing  who  had  ever 
seen  such  a  man,  and  could  hear  of  none  who  had  done 
so.  He  determined  to  study  the  subject  fully,  and  either 
satisfy  himself  of  its  falsity  or  acquire  the  art.  He  ap- 
plied himself  to  it,  even  after  he  entered  the  priesthood 
and  until  his  twenty-fifth  year,  only  becoming  more  and 


258  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

more  convinced  tliat  the  belief  had  no  other  foundation 
than  ignorance  and  imposture.  He  had  himself  seen  a 
man  strike  his  arm  repeatedly  with  a  sharp  razor  without 
wounding  the  skin,  but  this  he  knew  was  a  mere  trick. 

From  his  allusion  to  his  having  been  in  the  priesthood, 
I  hoped  to  obtain  from  him  some  information  resj^ecting 
the  organization  and  internal  management  of  this  body  ; 
but  he  seemed  to  misunderstand  me,  and  fear  that  I 
wished  to  lead  him  into  some  theological  discussion  which 
he  was  desirous  of  avoiding.  He  hastily  replied  that  he 
was  only  in  the  priesthood  the  three  months  required  by 
law ;  that  he  thought  there  were  no  more  than  nominal 
differences  between  their  religion  and  ours,  especially  if 
their  religion  were  purified,  but  that  it  was  corrupted  by 
the  notions  and  usages  of  several  ignorant  natives  ;  still,  it 
and  the  Catholic  religion  were  nearly  identical — there  was 
no  difference  worth  talking  about. 

I  merely  asked  how  many  priests  there  were. 

"  Ten  thousand  ;  an  army  we  are  compelled  to  sup- 
port in  idleness." 

I  was  satisfied  my  friend  had  reached  the  true  signifi- 
cance and  value  of  Buddhism,  and  was  timid  lest  his  opin- 
ions should  be  discovered. 

Wishing  to  make  him  some  little  useful  present,  I 
thought  of  a  small  and  simply-constructed  electro-galvanic 
apparatus  in  my  jDOSsession.  '  I  inquired  if  he  had  paid  any 
attention  to  the  subject.  "  Oh,  yes,  much.  I  have  made 
many  batteries  myself,  and  punish  my  servants  by  galvan- 
izing them."  Still  hoping  that  mine  might  be  a  little 
better  finished  than  those  of  his  own  hands,  I  asked  to 
see  one  of  his.  He  had  none  by  him  but  the  first  he  had 
ever  made.  This  was  brought  in,  and  was  so  far  superior 
to  mine  in  power  and  finish,  being  inclosed  in  a  handsome 
case,  that  I  saw  I  could  do  nothing  for  him  in  this  way. 

His  work-shop  was  in  a  lower  room,  about  twenty  feet 


AN     UNCOMMON     COMMONER.  259 

long.  The  whole  of  one  side  was  occupied  by  a  large 
and  well-finished  turning  lathe  which  he  had  built  him- 
self. Along  the  wall,  neatly  arranged,  was  a  variety  of 
implements  and  mechanic's  tools,  and  around  lay  several 
heavy  soUd  brass  wheels,  some  in  the  roughness  of  a  fresh 
casting  and  some  smoothly  turned.  He  was  then  con- 
structing in  an  outer  shed  a  much  larger  lathe,  and  also  a 
small  steam  engine  to  turn  it.  In  the  shed  where  he  was 
putting  up  the  frame  of  his  large  lathe  there  lay  a  pile 
of  ship's  blocks.  These  he  was  making  for  the  use  of  the 
king. 

I  again  alluded  to  the  extent  of  his  acquirements  un- 
der such  difiicult  circumstances.  He  replied  that  he  owed 
it  all  to  the  missionaries,  who  were  in  all  respects  the  best 
men  he  had  ever  met.  When  they  were  first  expected 
there  was  a  great  apprehension  among  the  Siamese  lest 
they  should  be  arrogant,  annoying  and  troublesome,  but 
he  thought  much  upon  the  subject,  and  one  remarkable 
fact  impressed  itself  upon  his  mind.  "  I  said,"  he  con- 
tinued, "  all  the  people  I  know  of  have  kings  to  rule  over 
them  except  this  people,  and  they  are  all  equal  and  agree 
among  themselves  who  shall  be  their  head  ;  and  although 
they  are  all  equal,  we  hear  of  no  wars  and  dissensions 
among  them.  Therefore,  I  said,  they  must  be  a  people 
of  greater  virtues  and  better  hearts  than  those  people  who 
have  to  be  kept  in  order  by  monarchs.  He  had  known 
the  missionaries  intimately  from  their  first  coming,  and 
their  character  and  behavior  had  confirmed  the  judgment 
he  had  formed  before  he  knew  them,  and  the  manners  of 
Americans  generally  were  more  amiable  than  those  of 
Europeans." 

I  replied  that  he  had  hit  upon  the  true  principle  ;  that 
being  all  equal,  no  man  had  the  right  of  talking  arrogantly 
to  another  ;  that  the  President  used  the  same  courtesy 
to  one  of  his  fellow-citizens  that  he  would  to  a  member 


260  SIAM     AND     THE     SIAMESE. 

of  bis  own  family,  and  hence  courteous  deportment  be- 
came a  national  characteristic,  and  was  manifested  in  our 
association  with  other  people  ;  that  we  knew  a  republic 
could  only  exist  with  an  intelligent  and  virtuous  people, 
and  therefore  we  endeavored  to  inipai't  those  quaUties  to 
our  people  by  free  schools  all  over  the  country,  giving 
every  one  an  education  at  no,  or  but  little,  cost. 

This  man  had  acquired  by  conversation  with  the  mis- 
sionaries all  his  scientific  knowledge.  His  plan  was  to 
get  them  to  read  to  him  from  English  books  what  related 
to  any  matter  he  w^as  studying,  or  what  illustrated  any 
engraving  which  attracted  his  attention.  He  would  im- 
mediately make  some  practical  application  of  his  knowl- 
edge, and  thus  he  learned  from  them  what,  practically, 
they  did  not  know  themselves. 

I  left  him  about  ten  o'clock.  He  thanked  me  for  my 
visit,  and  promised  soon  to  return  it. 


F  A  N  E  W  E  I . 


III. 

IN     CHINA 


IN    CHINA. 

XXII. 

HONa    KONG. 

On  Saturday,  May  31st,  the  "Siamese  Seat  of  Naval 
Force"  took  the  whole  of  our  party  away  from  Bangkok. 
We  reached  Packnam  at  night,  where  the  governor  had 
made  arrangements  for  our  accommodation  until  morning. 

About  eight  o'clock  the  next  morning,  we  reached 
the  San  Jacinto,  after  seven  weeks'  absence,  and  imme- 
diatoly  got  under  way  for  Hong  Kong,  where  awaited  us 
our  Ir'ters  of  eight  months'  accumulation,  and  aU  the 
incidents  of  joy  or  sorrow  which,  in  a  changing  world, 
might  in  that  time  await  our  arrival.  There  was,  also,  the 
hope  of  liberty  for  our  ship-sick,  ship-imprisoned  crew, 
nearly  a  year  in  this  worse  than  penitentiary  imprison- 
ment, without  their  feet  touching  mother-earth. 

When  our  legislators  produced,  the  act  to  "  provide  a 
more  efficient  discipline  for  the  Xavy,"  in  their  sinapli- 
city  they  assumed  some  natural  human  rights  to  exist  on 
board  a  man-of-war,  for  they  say :  "  Section  3.  And  be  it 
further  enacted,  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  commanders 
of  any  vessels  in  the  Navy,  in  granting  temporary  leare 
of  absence  and  liberty  on  shore,  to  exercise  carefully  a 
discrimination  in  favor  of  the  fixitliful  and  obedient ;"  and 


264  IN    en  IN  A. 

among  the  legal  penalties  is,  "  deprivation  of  liberty  on 
shore  on  foreign  stations."  They  should  first  have  or- 
dered that  the  men  should  not,  without  great  and  urgent 
cause,  or  as  a  penalty,  be  dejDrived  of  the  liberty  of  the 
shore  ;  or  some  Secretary  of  the  Navy  should  make  such 
an  acknowledgment  of  right  a  regulation  of  the  Dej^art- 
mcnt.  The  usage  is  to  keep  the  men  on  board  ships  for 
months,  whereas  officers,  and  officers'  servants,  go  ashore 
daily  in  every  port.  This  tantalizing  and  provoking  con- 
trast nurses  and  feeds  the  fever  of  the  accumulated  excita- 
biUty  of  confinement  to  a  water-bound  prison ;  and  then, 
when  they  are  permitted  to  go  ashore,  it  is  in  large  gangs, 
for  a  twenty-four  hours'  debauch — the  naval  idea  being 
that  the  nature  of  the  saUor  is  to  have  this  debauch,  and, 
in  ignorance  of  man-nature,  overlooking  the  fact  that  the 
men  have  been  brought  into  a  morbid  condition  by  the 
unnatural  management  of  them. 

The  first  touch  of  the  foot  to  the  shore,  after  such  an 
estrangement,  is  an  intoxication.  I  have  experienced  it 
myself  after  a  long  sea  voyage  ;  then  to  this  excitement 
is  added  that  of  numbers,  and  the  incitement  to  outrage 
which  arises  from  the  physical  power  of  numbers  turned 
loose  for  indulgence  in  a  weak  community.  A  great  lever 
of  punishment  is  lost,  by  the  fact  that  no  rights  or  indul- 
gence are  secured  the  good,  and  of  which  the  bad  may  be 
deprived. 

Instead  of  this  unnatural  management  of  the  crew,  sup- 
pose, when  in  port,  the  men  were — such  as  behaved  them- 
selves— permitted  to  go  ashore,  daily,  in  small  numbers, 
as  they  could  be  sj^ared  from  their  duties.  The  frequency 
of  visiting  the  shore  would  diminish  the  wildness  of  ex- 
citement, the  small  numbers  would  lessen  the  incentives 
to  turbulence,  a  lever  of  correction  would  be  constantly 
on  hand,  and  the  bad  would  be  sej)arated  from  the  good. 

Some  sensible  commanders  have  had  the  good  sense  to 


HONG     KONG.  265 

try  this  reasonable  system,  and  the  results  are  as  favor- 
able as  might  have  been  expected. 

Owing  to  the  defect  in  our  engine,  and  some  delay  in 
repairing  it,  we  did  not  arrive  in  Hong  Kong  until  the 
11th  of  June,  1856 — ^within  a  few  days  of  eight  months 
since  leaving  New  York. 

From  the  lonely  waters  and  level  flats  of  the  Gulf  of 
Siam,  to  the  green  islands,  rugged  mountains,  and  throng- 
ing vessels  of  the  harbor  of  Hong  Kong,  is  a  transition 
of  marked  contrast. 

Our  first  contact  with  Chinese  quaUties  introduced  us 
to  their  indomitable  energy,  perseverance,  and  industry. 
An  enterprising  Chinese  pilot  had  picked  us  up  far  out  at 
sea,  and  another  had  been  for  a  month  steadily  on  the 
look-out  for  us ;  and,  as  we  ran  up  to  our  anchorage,  we 
encountered  a  Chinese  invasion.  A  fleet  of  boats,  pro- 
pelled by  mat  sails,  by  sculls  and  oars,  bore  down  upon 
us.  The  principal  object  of  competition  was  to  get  the 
office  of  comprador — the  privilege  of  supplying  the  vari- 
ous messes,  and  of  being  the  ship's  bum-boat ;  that  is, 
trading  with  tlie  men  during  certain  fixed  hours.  This  is 
a  very  profitable  position,  and  those  who  engage  in  it  get 
rich.  Then,  there  were  tailors,  painters,  shoemakers, 
peddlers,  washermen  and  washerwomen,  besides  aspirants 
for  the  honorable  appointment  of  "  fast  boat" — the  boat 
which,  being  the  home  and  dwelling-place  of  the  pro- 
prietor and  his  family,  wives  and  children,  is  employed, 
instead  of  the  ship's  boats,  to  take  us  to  and  from  the 
shore. 

On  came  the  competing  fleet,  regardless,  apparently, 
of  being  run  down  by  our  heavy  steamer.  "We  w^ere  not 
then  familiar  with  the  great  skill  with  which  these  boats 
are  managed — being  suddenly  turned  and  changing  their 
course  just  as  they  appear  to  be  rushing  upon  an  object. 
Stimulated  by  the  piize  before  them,  and  confident  of 

12 


206  IN     CHINA. 

their  skDl,  tlicy  paid  no  attention  to  the  orders  to  warn 
them  off,  if,  indeed,  these  could  be  heard  above  the 
clamor  and  the  screeching  of  their  own  tin-toned  throats. 
Some  of  the  greater  tacticians  had  small  American  ensigns 
flying,  and  one  bold  diplomatist,  determined  to  command 
success  by  assuming  it,  flew  from  his  mast-head  a  white 
flag,  painted  in  large  characters — 

B  U  M-B  OAT. 

U.    8.    STEAMER 
SAN      JACINTO. 

Up  alongside  the  ship  they  dashed,  and,  despite  their 
skOl,  not  without  some  damage  to  them,  crashing  bam- 
boo spars.  Men  and  women  clambered  up  the  ship's  sides, 
and  thrust  forth  bundles  of  certificates  from  their  former 
patrons  in  our  service,  at  the  same  time  assuring  us  that 
he  or  she  was  !N"o.  1  in  their  respective  vocations. 

A  great  and  absorbing  interest  drew  us  for  the  time 
from  these  novel  sights.  Owing  to  the  courtesy  of  the 
house  of  De  Silver  &  Co.,  the  accumulated  letters  of  an 
interval  of  eight  months'  absence  from  home  were  sent  on 
board  to  us  by  the  time  we  had  anchored,  and  the  hopes, 
the  fears,  and  the  anxieties  of  all  this  time  were  to  be  con- 
firmed or  dispelled. 

The  hurry  and  bustle  of  a  fresh  arrival,  the  reception 
of  visitors,  and  the  firing  of  salutes  having  subsided,  in  a 
day  or  two  we  are  in  a  state  to  make  a  more  detailed  ex- 
amination of  this  fruit  of  English  civilization  which  had 
sprung  up  in  what,  twelve  years  ago,  was  a  den  of  Chinese 
pirates  and  a  collection  of  miserable  fishing  huts. 

The  city  of  Victoria,  in  the  island  of  Hong  Kong, 
may  be  said  to  extend  from  Happy  Valley  on  the  ex- 
treme east  to  West  Point  on  the  extreme  west,  a  wind- 
ing road  of  about  three  miles  in  length,  the  Queen's  road, 
skirting  the  bay  and  twisting  along  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tains washed  by  the  waters  of  the  bay.     The  mass  of  the 


HOi^^G     KOXG.  267 

city  lies  within  the  central  two  miles  of  this  space,  strag- 
gling and  adventurous  settlements  linking  in  the  spaces 
beyond.  Indeed,  nearly  a  mile  beyond  the  eastern  point 
we  have  named,  alone  and  separated  from  the  rest  of  the 
city,  are  the  extensive  buildings  of  the  large  commercial 
firm  of  Jardine,  Matheson  &Co.,  which  seems  to  be  some- 
what an  independent  though  allied  sovereignty  of  Hong 
Kong — firing  its  morning  and  evening  gun,  keeping  its 
own  police  force,  and  running  an  individual  line  of  steam- 
ers to  the  East  Indies.  After  the  city  begins  to  leave  the 
Queen's  road  with  any  lateral  aspirations,  there  is  nothing 
left  for  it  but  tp  climb  up  the  mountain-side,  and  so  it 
does,  with  sharp,  angular  features  standing  out  with  a 
general  complexion  of  white  and  yellow  ochre  on  two  or 
three  dark-green,  granite-knobbed  mountain  spurs,  along 
which  wind  terraced  roads  fi-inged  with  shrubbery  and 
gardens.  High  up  on  these  elevations  stand  the  preten- 
tious palaces  of  the  successful  merchants,  or  those  which, 
built  upon  a  hopeful  future,  have  passed  into  the  hands 
of  those  who  have  followed  "  one  more  unfortunate." 

Also  standing  out  to  catch  the  breezes  of  the  hill-top, 
with  the  union  jack  flying  in  its  front,  is  the  yellow- 
washed  castle  of  the  Governor,  the  residence  of  the  Bishoj) 
of  Victoria,  and  the  cathedral,  with  fortifications  and  mil- 
itary quarters  capping  off  nature's  granite  summits  with 
the  same  material  molded  by  the  lines  of  architecture 
and  masonry.  Over  all,  from  an  elevation  of  eighteen 
hundred  feet,  looks  down  Victoria's  Peak,  over  city  and 
bay,  am  pan,  lorcha  and  junk,  the  merchantmen  of  many 
nations  soon  to  be  lying  in  the  stagnation  of  war  and 
blockade. 

Under  English  fortresses  and  men-of  war  we  are  toler- 
ably safe.  But  the  opposite  or  Kowloon  shore  of  the  bay, 
inviting  as  it  looks,  only  two  miles  away,  is  at  all  times 
pretty  certain  death  to  any  wandering  Fankwei.  Hostility 


268  IN     CHINA. 

to  the  barbarian  is  increased  by  his  proximity,  as  some 
unfortunate  EngUshracn  have  recently  experienced, 

A  morning's  stroll  along  the  length  of  the  Queen's 
road  will  present  us  with  much  of  interest,  and  show  us 
a  variety  of  races  and  some  of  their  habits.  We  will 
begin  again  at  the  Happy  Valley,  and  to  get  there,  we 
start  before  the  sun  is  up,  and  find  ourselves  rapidly 
passed  by  early-rising,  flist-walking  foreign  residents,  who 
are  doing  up  their  daily  amount  of  out-door  exercise  as 
energetically  as  possible,  making  this  valley  their  general 
terminus.  It  is  a  little  beauty  of  a  basin  of  prairie,  about 
a  mile  in  circuit,  shut  in  by  the  precipitous  hills,  through 
one  of  which  our  road  is  cut — a  beautiful  and  inviting- 
looking  spot  to  look  at,  but  deadly  to  dwell  in.  Most  ot 
it  is  filled  by  the  circuit  of  the  race-course,  and  around  it 
are  placed  the  various  cemeteries.  By  the  time  we  are 
ready  to  return  the  sun  is  gilding  the  hill-tops,  and  the 
laboring  Ufe  of  Hong  Kong  is  astir.  As  we  reenter  the 
suburbs  of  the  city,  the  mechanics  are  busily  at  work  in 
their  open  shops.  The  bamboo  chair-maker  and  the  rat- 
tan shaving  mattrass-maker  are  topographical  trades,  but 
the  blacksmiths,  tinmen  and  braziers  are  numerous,  and 
the  barbers  are  everywhere,  in  shops  and  in  the  streets, 
shaving  heads,  plaiting  queues,  shampooing  backs,  clean- 
ing out  ears  and  eyes.  Then  we  have  a  range  of  market- 
shops  ;  the  pork-butcher  is  dealing  out  his  slender  cutlets, 
the  fruiterer  his  pines,  banannas,  oranges,  and  huge  pomel- 
ons.  Next  to  this  golden-colored  merchandise,  are  masses 
of  green  salad,  cabbages,  peas,  beans,  with  radishes  and 
tomatoes.  There  are  dried  fish  and  fresh,  with  bunches 
of  dried  ducks,  split  open,  pressed  flat,  as  if  rolled  be- 
tween heavy  rollers,  and  dried  with  transparent  thinness. 

The  laboring  coolies,  with  their  burden-sticks  across 
their  shoulders,  fill  the  streets,  all  dressed  with  much 
uniformity  in  broad-brimmed,  sharp-peaked  hats,  made  of 


HONG    KONG.  269 

palm-leaves,  blue  cotton  shirts,  or  frocks,  coining  to  their 
hips,  trowsers  of  the  same  reaching  half  way  down  the  leg, 
and  either  bare  or  straw  sandal-shod  feet.  The  women 
wear  precisely  the  same  costume,  except  that  the  outer 
frock  hangs  lower,  and  the  troAvsers  reach  the  ankle. 
Even  among  the  lower  classes,  a  few  small-footed  women 
are  seen  tottering  along  like  a  child  on  short  stilts,  but 
most  of  them  are  either  barefoot  or  wear  a  shoe  with  a 
sole  two  inches  thick,  shaped  like  a  rocker  skate ;  moth- 
ers are  tottering  along  with  children  lashed  to  their  backs 
by  a  square  cloth,  of  which  the  prevailing  fashion  is  crim- 
son. 

At  a  later  hour,  when  we  would  meet  the  better  classes 
of  Chinese,  another  style  of  costume  varies  the  streets. 
Black  satin  or  embossed  velvet  shoes  with  thick  white 
soles,  white  leggings  reaching  to  the  knees,  and  meeting 
blue  silk  breeches  which  are  fastened  by  silk  garters,  or 
the  silk  breeches,  may  descend  the  leg,  fitting  it  tightly 
and  being  fastened  at  the  ankles  with  ribbons.  The  out- 
side garment  is  either  a  figured  silk  or  a  woolen  cape,  or 
a  long  robe  either  light  and  flowing,  or  quilted  and  trim- 
med with  rich  furs,  according  to  the  season.  In  fact,  al- 
though there  is  a  general  style  of  costume,  it  admits  as 
much  variety  almost  in  fashion  and  material  as  is  seen  on 
Broadway.  The  cap  of  these  gentry  is  a  close-fitting 
skull  cap  made  of  eight  sections,  with  a  crimson  knot  on 
the  toj).  Rain  or  shine,  cold  or  warm,  in  the  day  time, 
cloudy  or  clear,  every  Chinaman  has  an  umbrella,  and  at 
night  a  lantei-n. 

By  the  time  we  have  passed  through  the  Chinese  sub- 
urbs, and  reached  the  large  and  capacious  buildings  of 
the  European  settlement  we  find  we  are  bounded  on  all 
sides  by  the  British  government.  First  we  come  to  a 
guard-house,  and  then  a  long  range  of  granite  buildings, 
called  the  war  department ;  a  little  further,  on  the  oji- 


270  iNcniNA. 

posit e  side,  the  military  hospital,  a  large  central  building 
Avitli  a  fountain  amid  the  shrubbery  of  the  front  yard,  and 
two  wings.  Then  on  and  on,  other  public  buildings — a 
navy  yard.  Then  again,  on  both  sides  of  the  street,  long 
ranges  of  military  quarters  with  shady  walks  under  rows 
of  trees  in  their  front,  and  sentries  posted  at  the  gate. 
Here  we  fall  in  with  specimens  of  the  military  guardians 
of  the  empke.  European  soldiers  in  the  tight-fitting 
crimson  jackets,  or  dark  colored,  curly-haired  Sepoys, 
with  loose  white  robes,  flowing  trowsers  and  crimson  tur- 
bans ;  or  the  same  fellows  dressed  in  tight-fitting,  Euro- 
pean military  dress,  looking  like  flexible  black  snakes 
stifiened  in  tin  jackets. 

Having  passed  these  military  establishments,  we  come 
upon  another  small  prairie  expanse,  the  parade  ground, 
ojDening  to  the  bay  on  one  side,  and  overlooked  at  the 
other  by  the  Episcopal  cathedral  perched  upon  an  emi- 
nence. 

A  row  of  trees  on  each  side  of  the  road  shades  our 
walk  across  this  sjDace,  and  at  later  hour  of  the  day  there 
would  be  much  to  keep  us  loitering  along  this  thorough- 
fare. In  the  shade  of  these  trees  is  the  place  of  business 
of  respectably  dressed  and  sage  looking  old  Chinamen — 
conjui'ors,  physicians  and  magicians. 

One  of  the  "Faculty"  has  a  large  white  cloth  spread 
out,  upon  which  is  painted  many  human  figures,  and  upon 
it  the  exact  seat,  or  morbid  effects  of  every  disgusting 
disease  which  the  doctor  professes  to  remedy.  This  is  an 
energetic  looking  individual  who  urges  his  talents  upon 
the  public  notice.  Another  more  dignified  and  grave 
looking  person  sits  behind  his  table,  spread  with  parcels 
of  medicines,  neatly  spread  plasters,  and,  absorbed  in  the 
study  of  a  book,  quietly  awaits  the  calls  of  his  patients. 
More  numerous  than  these  quack  doctors,  are  the  conju- 
rors.    Several  of  them  have  little  caees  containing  beau- 


HONG     KOXG.  271 

tiful  and  well-taught  Java  sparrows,  and  a  box  in  which 
a  variety  of  cards  are  iiacked  on  their  edges.  Any  card 
may  be  selected  from  the  pack,  and  being  marked  and  re- 
tm-ned  to  it,  the  sparrow,  at  the  bid  of  his  master,  hops 
over  the  pack,  plunges  his  beak  into  it,  and  draws  forth 
the  identical  card  which  had  been  marked. 

One  shrewd,  cunning-looking,  sharp  featured  individual 
was  very  importunate.  He  had  the  countenance  and  ex- 
pression of  the  keenest  Yankee,  crossed  with  the  trickiest 
Chinaman.  He  stood  in  front  of  a  suspended  chait,  on 
which  were  painted  two  busts,  mapped  off,  and  named  or 
numbered  as  the  organs  of  a  phrenological  bust.  In  his 
hand  he  held  a  small  looking-glass,  directed  toward  the 
passing  crowd,  to  which  he  seemed  to  be  addressing  a 
constantly  flowing  lecture.  Many  passed  him  by  with- 
out any  notice,  some  halted  for  a  moment,  laughed,  and 
passed  on,  but  some  stood  fixed  in  gaping  wonderment ; 
to  these  he  held  up  the  small  mirror,  and,  with  rapid 
speech  and  moving  fingers,  pointed  at  various  regions  of 
the  head  and  face,  the  subject,  always  with  an  anxious 
countenance,  seeming  to  come  more  and  more  under  the 
influence  of  the  operator — whether  medical  or  magical,  I 
could  not  guess. 

Having  crossed  this  lively  region,  we  are  now  amid  the 
showy  houses  of  business  of  the  foreign  merchants,  the 
wholesale  opium  smugglei's,  and  also  the  shops  of  the  re- 
tailers. These,  with  the  better  class  of  Chinese  lacquer, 
silk  and  ivory  shops,  extend  along  the  Queen's  road  for 
half  a  mile,  when  the  road,  both  topographically  and 
morally,  makes  a  descent  into  Tae-ping-shan,  the  dense 
Chinese  settlement  propci',  where,  amid  native  trades, 
pirates  and  robbers,  painted  courtesans,  opium  and  tea 
shops,  renegade  foreigners  keeping  sailor  boarding-houses 
and  drinking  shops,  purvey  to  the  depraved  appetites  of 
their  countrymen.     Such  is  Hong  Kong  from  the  begin- 


272  IN     CHINA. 

ning  to  the  end  of  its  great  thoroughfare,  the  Queen's 
road.  During  the  busy  hours  of  the  day  it  is  thronged 
with  pedestrians,  native  and  foreign  ;  sedan  chairs,  close 
and  open ;  traveling  cook-shops,  and  peddlers  of  cakes, 
confectioneries,  oranges  and  olives.  All  these  are  regularly 
licensed  and  numbered,  paying  tribute  undoubtedly  to 
the  colonial  government.  Cobblers  of  old  shoes,  workers 
in  leather,  repairers  of  broken  china,  with  their  imple- 
ments of  trade,  are  among  the  morning  occupations  of 
the  street;  while  bands  of  labor  coolies  are  carrying 
bales  and  heavy  burdens  from  point  to  point.  Among 
the  throng  are  black,  hyena-looking  policemen,  Indians 
in  European  clothes,  with  numbers  embroidered  on  their 
collars,  and  these  omit  no  opportunity  of  asserting  their 
proud  position  as  British  subjects,  by  kicking  over  a 
peddling  Chinaman's  stock  in  trade,  scattering  his  fruit, 
nuts  and  baskets  in  the  street,  lashing  him  with  the  short 
thick  whip  he  carries  under  his  arm,  or  beating  him,  as  I 
have  seen,  with  the  flat  of  his  sword.     . 

Such  is  a  glance  at  the  capital  of  the  island  over  which 
is  ruler  and  governor  Dr.  Sir  John  Bowring,  the  philol- 
ogist and  philanthropist — the  poet  and  philosopher — the 
statesman  and  chartist — an  apparently  worthy  gentle- 
man, whose  literary  reputation  is  far  greater  than  that  of 
his  position  of  Governor  of  Hong  Kong.  According  to 
the  colonial  press,  he  does  not  possess  one  good  quahty  or 
a  sohtary  virtue.  Sir  John,  it  has  been  said,  has  somewhat 
humorously  said  he  was  the  great  supporter  of  the  colo- 
nial press,  as  but  for  abuse  of  him,  the  writers  would  have 
no  material  for  then-  pens  to  work  upon. 

It  seems  so  essential  a  condition  of  a  Hong  Kong  gov- 
ernor's position  to  be  abused,  that,  as  a  thing  of  course  it 
resolves  itself  into  a  mere  form  of  speech,  and  is  diluted 
into  a  Pickwickian  sense.  After  all,  the  governor,  who  has 
earned  a  world-wide  reputation  as  a  man  of  letters,  may 


CANTON,     THE     CITY     OF     KAMS.  273 

be  as  able  as  those  of  whom  the  world  has  never  heard, 
and  morally  may  be  no  worse  than  the  commercial  commu- 
nity of  which  the  leading  business  is  opium  smuggling, 
and  the  daily  excitement,  gambling  upon  its  price. 


XXIII. 

CANTON,    THK    CITY    OF    RAMS. 

Ox  this  10th  day  of  July  the  first  overland  mail  since 
our  arrival  left  in  the  steamer  for  the  Red  Sea.  We  had 
all  pi-ivately  and  officially  been  working  up  to  this  point 
The  consul  general  for  Japan  had  finished  his  dispatches, 
and  they,  with  the  Siamese  treaty,  were  in  the  hands  of 
Dr.  Bradley,  the  bearer  of  the  treaty  for  ratification,  who 
went  home  by  the  mail. 

The  next  morning,  bright  and  early,  we  were  off  for 
Japan  ;  that  is,  we  were  to  be.  Steam  was  got  up  and 
the  anchor  weighed.  Around  went  the  propeller,  when 
such  a  blow,  such  a  shock,  struck  the  San  Jacinto  in  the 
stern,  as  made  every  timber  in  her  quiver ;  and  every- 
bod\' — those  on  duty  and  those  awoke  from  their  morning 
slumbers — began  to  wonder  what  was  the  matter.  Slowly 
turned  the  pi-opeller — thump — blow — shock — quiver.  A 
five  hundred  horse  power  engine  was  applying  the  weight 
of  fourteen  thousand  pounds  of  metal  to  some  part  of  the 
ship  not  intended  for  such  a  state  of  things.  Cyclopean 
poundings.  Something  was  wrong,  certainly.  Away 
went  the  anchor  again,  a  mile  or  so  from  where  we  had 
picked  it  up.  The  engineers  examined  the  propeller,  and 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  keys  which  kept  the 
blades  in  place  had  been  destroyed,  and  the  blades  con- 
sequently had  fallen  back  so  as  to  strike  the  stern  rud- 
der post.     But  before  any  thing  could  be  definitely  as- 

12* 


274  IN     CHINA. 

certained,  and  certainly,  before  any  thing  could  be  done, 
the  sliip  must  go  into  dock.  The  dock  was  at  Whampoa, 
some  eighty  miles  up  the  Canton  river,  and  the  San  Ja- 
cinto, now  entirely  helpless,  could  not  get  to  Whampoa 
herself,  but  must  be  humiliatingly  towed  there ;  and  as 
she  must  be  lightened  to  sixteen  feet  to  enter  the  dock, 
all  the  coal,  water  and  provisions  with  which  she  was  filled 
uj)  for  her  cruise  must  now  come  out,  also  her  guns,  and 
perhaps  her  masts. 

On  Saturday,  the  13th  of  July,  two  steamers  took  us 
in  tow,  and  by  eight  in  the  morning  we  were  on  our  way 
to  Whampoa.  As  we  passed  by  the  British  frigate  Nan- 
kin her  band  struck  up  "  Hail  Columbia,"  but  as  we  were 
not  moving  proudly  by  our  own  forces,  but  humbly  drag- 
ging in  the  wake  of  two  steamboats,  although  intended 
as  a  compliment,  it  felt  like  a  satire. 

Our  way  up  the  river  presented  us  with  the  interest  of 
l^icturesque  scenery.  The  waters,  reddish  yellow  in  color, 
were  rolling,  flowing  around  and  between  rocky  islands, 
some  of  them  clothed  in  green.  The  banks  were  a  suc- 
cession of  lofty  mountain  hills,  with  intervening  valleys 
and  Chinese  villages.  It  is  most  extraordinary  that  any 
one  of  observation  should  have  spoken  of  these  river  bor- 
ders as  uninteresting  or  as  thinly  peopled.  Every  plain 
and  cove  has  its  populous  town  or  village,  and  wherever 
the  soil,  washed  from  the  hill-sides,  has  accumulated  in 
masses  large  enough  to  support  life,  there  life  has  planted 
itself.  And  in  addition  to  this  population  supported  on 
the  shore,  much  of  that  which  wins  existence,  honestly  or 
dishonestly,  from  the  water,  makes  its  home  along  the 
banks  of  these  waters.  It  is  true  that  owing  to  the 
breadth  of  the  stream,  the  little  elevation  of  the  dwellings, 
and  the  concealed  coves  and  nooks  in  which  they  are  nes- 
tled, but  little  of  the  population  is  seen  by  the  traveler 
on  the  river. 


CANTON,     THE     CITY     OF     RAMS.  275 

Some  of  these  green  hill-sides  were  sprinkled  over  with 
large-sized,  white  semicircles.  These  were  Chinese  graves. 
They  are  constructed  much  like  a  large,  old-fashioned, 
oval-backed  sleigh,  high  behind  and  low  in  front.  They 
are  built  with  two  semicircles,  or  horse-shoe  shaj^ed  in- 
closures  of  masonry,  one  within  another.  The  outer  is 
built  up  two  or  three  feet  from  the  ground  at  the  back 
part,  and  has  a  diameter  of  ten  or  twelve  feet. 

As  we  approached  the  Bogue,  it  could  be  recognized  in 
the  distance  by  the  long  lines  of  white  walls  running  from 
the  water-side  to  the  hill-tops,  and  inclosing  the  forts  built 
to  defend  the  passage.  These  forts  are  extensive,  but 
ai-e  now  very  much  dilapidated.  So  narrow  is  the  passage 
at  the  Bogue,  and  so  favorably  placed  on  the  high  lands 
overlooking  it,  that  it  might  be  made  impregnable.  After 
passing  the  Bogue,  the  hills  recede,  and  low,  flat  rice  or 
paddy  fields,  with  an  embankment  or  levee  shutting  out 
the  waters,  border  the  stream.  Obliged  to  anchor  at 
night,  it  was  not  until  the  following  morning  we  found 
ourselves  among  the  shijjping  of  the  miserable,  marsh- 
surrounded,  pestilential  anchorage  of  Wliampoa;  and  thus 
terminated  our  first  effort  to  reach  Japan. 

Whampoa  is  a  cm-ious,  but  desolate-looking  place — a 
Chinese  town  on  shore,  and  a  foreign  one  upon  the  water. 
I  noticed  a  neat-looking  boat  in  the  river  built  over  with 
a  house,  and  having  green  Venetian  blinds.  That  was 
the  doctor's  house  and  office.  A  similar  boat,  housed 
over,  the  windows  Gothic,  with  other  church-like  adorn- 
ments, was  the  church  ;  and  the  boat  from  which  I  looked 
upon  these  things  was  itself  a  floating  grocery  and  ship- 
chandler's  store.  The  nature  of  the  shore  may  be  imag- 
ined where  the  Avater  is  a  more  agreeable  abiding-place  ; 
but  the  insurance  officers  have  arithmetically  calculated 
the  chances  of  having  your  tliroat  cut  and  your  property 
destroyed  on  shore  or  afloat,  and  have  readied  the  raoney- 


276  IN     CHINA. 

measured  conclusion  that  on  shore  they  "svill  not  make  in- 
surance, on  the  river  they  will. 

On  Monday  afternoon  the  steamer  Willamette  came 
along,  on  her  way  from  Ilong  Kong  to  Canton,  and  Com- 
modore Armstrong,  his  secretary  and  I  took  passage  in 
her.  As  we  approached  the  city  we  ran  among  lines  of 
the  most  extraordinary-looking  boats,  armed  junks,  with 
all  sorts  of  fantastic-looking  cannon  jutting  out  of  their 
sterns,  their  sides  and  their  bows.  There  were  many  very 
long,  roofed-over  boats,  with  rolls  of  black  varnished  mat- 
ting laid  along  their  roofs.  These  were  canal  boats  bring- 
ing produce  along  the  vast  canals  of  the  empire  from  the 
great  interior.  Their  sails  lay  neatly  protected  beneath 
the  rolls  of  black  matting. 

Almost  hidden  by  this  massing  of  boats  —  some  belong- 
ing to  the  spot,  and  to  the  local  river  population,  others 
strangers  fi-om  the  distant  provinces — lies,  on  the  Chu- 
kiang  or  Pearl  river,  the  old  "  City  of  Kams,"  Kwang- 
tung — Canton — associated,  in  the  minds  of  antipodal 
merchants  and  ladies,  with  clean  matting,  aromatic  tea, 
and  bright  silks;  in  those  of  juvenile  patriots  with  fire- 
crackers, fourths  of  July  and  Christmas.  So  globe-famed 
a  city  makes  no  show  from  the  deck  of  the  Willamette. 
Its  low,  tUed  roof  houses  are  just  seen  over  the  boat 
city  in  its  front ;  but  there  it  lies,  within  its  seven  mUes 
of  wall,  with  its  million  of  population,  and  its  age-accumu- 
lated horrors,  vice  and  corruption,  plethoric,  and  full — fat- 
tened and  enfeebled  by  oriental  luxury,  facilitated,  not 
controlled,  by  a  material  religion,  and  aided  by  art  enough 
to  concentrate  without  refining. 

Travelers  in  the  United  States  are  constantly  annoyed 
by  the  ferocious  importunity  and  deafening  cries  with 
which  hackmen  are  permitted  to  assail  them  at  the  rail- 
road depots.  All  this  is  scarcely  equal  to  the  solicitations 
of  the  Tanka  girls  of  China.     These  girls  do  all  the  boat- 


CANTON,     THE     CITY    OF     KAMS.  27*7 

ing  on  the  river  —  such  as  carrying  passengers  and  mes- 
sages between  the  shipping  and  the  shore.  Their  boats, 
roofed  over  with  matting,  are  exceedingly  neat,  every 
thing  being  scrupulously  clean,  and  the  smallest  thing 
having  its  proper  place.  Order  and  system  are  especially 
necessary  to  this  neatness,  as  the  boat  is  the  permanent 
dwelling  of  its  three  or  four  inmates  —  their  kitchen, 
dining-room  and  bed-chamber.  The  women  wear  loose 
Chinese  trowsers  and  short  frock  of  dark  blue  pongee  silk, 
with  heavy  ear-rings,  bracelets,  and  anklets  of  a  pearl-col- 
ored stone,*  or  of  silver.  The  young  ones  are,  many  of 
them,  quite  good  looking,  with  cheerful  faces,  fi-amed  in  a 
bright-colored  kerchief  thrown  over  the  head,  and  fastened 
under  the  chin,  and  in  the  smiling,  merry  animation  with 
which  they  urge  you  to  employ  their  boats,  many  of  them 
display  beautifully  regular  and  white  teeth.  Their  feet 
are  bare.  These  boats  rushed  and  crowded  upon  our 
steamer,  as  we  came  to  the  anchorage,  in  the  most  reck- 
less manner,  and  the  captain  told  me  they  are  frequently 
upset,  and  their  inmates  drowned. 

We  had  anchored  immediately  in  front  of  the  Hongs, 
or  Factories  —  that  little  spot,  of  all  Canton,  in  which  are 
shut  up  all  the  foreign  residents.  Its  whole  extent  is 
about  the  size  of  two  ordinary  city  blocks,  two  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  in  length.  The  fi-ont,  immediately  along 
the  river,  is  laid  out  into  walks,  planted  Avith  shrubbery. 
In  the  middle  of  this  park,  or  garden,  stood  the  church, 
and  on  one  corner,  immediately  on  the  river,  the  club- 
house, bilUard-rooms,  and  boat-shed. 

The  houses  and  places  of  business  of  the  foreign  resi- 
dents front  on  this  park,  or  ranging  back  on  narrow  ave- 
nues running  to  the  wall,  which  shuts  them  in  from  the 
Chinese  streets.  There  are,  however,  gates  at  the  end  of 
these  streets  o^iening  to  the  Chinese  city.     In  the  im- 

*  Jade-stone,  very  oostly  when  the  real  stone. 


278  IN     CHINA. 

mediate  vicinity  of  these  Hongs  are  two  short  streets  — 
"Old  China"  and  "New  China"  street  —  in  which  most 
of  the  business  and  shopping  of  foreigners  are  done,  and 
these  streets  are  the  most  they  see  of  Canton.  The 
whole  extent  of  both  is  not  over  three  city  squares,  but  in 
that  space,  and  in  the  small  shops,  scarcely  more  than 
boxes,  which  make  its  boundaries,  what  tempting  wonders 
greet  the  eyes  of  the  newly  arrived  foreigner — all  the  elab- 
orate carvings  and  ingenious  workings  of  ivory,  pearl, 
tortoise  shell,  and  sandal  wood,  carefully  wrought  ebony 
cabinets  and  tables,  curious  bronzes,  bright  painted  por- 
celain, jetty  lacquer-ware  out-glittering  in  bright  black- 
ness its  gilded  decorations  ;  work-boxes  and  tables,  chess- 
tables,  desks,  book-cases,  tea-poys.  There  are  certain 
gloomy  little  shops,  in  which  the  passer-by  sees  scarcely 
any  thing  to  attract  his  attention.  The  brick  floor  and 
every  comer,  as  in  all  the  shojjs,  is  particularly  neat. 
A  few  high  camphor-wood  chests  are  ranged  along  the 
sides  ;  behind  a  small  pohshed  counter  are  a  few  shelves, 
and  these  are  generally  concealed  by  long  shutters  of 
black  varnished  boards.  One  or  two  old  respectable 
looking  Chinamen,  as  neat  as  their  shops,  dressed  in  white 
silk  or  grass  cloth,  are  sitting  quiet,  as  though  they  had 
nothing,  and  wished  for  nothing,  to  do,  and  yet  their 
shops  are  full  of  riches  and  temptations  —  embroidered 
shawls  and  silks.  Upon  inquiiing  for  these  articles,  the 
chests  are  opened,  or  a  board  or  two  is  taken  down  from 
before  the  shelves,  and  rolls  of  elegant  silks  are  unrolled 
for  your  admiration  ;  or  handsome  lacquered  and  gilded 
boxes  are  opened,  in  each  of  which  is  an  embroidered  crape 
shawl ;  any  number  of  these  will  be  taken  out,  held  up 
for  your  inspection,  or  tossed  into  intricate  and  confused 
folds  ;  and  when  your  curiosity  is  satisfied,  all  will  be  as 
neatly  folded  and  replaced  as  though  they  had  never 
been    disturbed.      You   may  leave   the    shop,   as   most 


CANTON,     THE     CITY     OF     KAMS.  279 

of  US  do,  without  buying  a  thing,  there  will  not  be  the 
least  display  of  annoyance  or  vexation,  and  yoii  will  be 
"  chin  chinned"  out  with  as  much  courtesy  of  manner  as 
though  you  had  been  a  profitable  purchaser  ;  and  yet  these 
same  men  are  accustomed  to  fill  orders  for  silks  and 
shawls  of  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

Canton  streets  are  the  narrowest  possible  lanes.  The 
crowd  passes  in  single  file  in  opposite  currents,  and  the 
foot  passenger  hears  ever  behind  him  loud  roaring  cries 
from  cooUes  bearing  sedan  chairs,  or  heavy  burdens  de- 
pending from  poles,  suj^ported  at  either  end  upon  a  man's 
shoulders.  The  street  is  not  wide  enough  to  permit  these 
chairs  and  loads  to  pass  without  the  foot  passengers 
giving  way,  and  as  the  coolies  so  laden  proceed  at  a  very 
rapid  walk — almost  a  dog-trot — unless  their  cry  is  heeded, 
and  way  made  for  them,  th,e  force  of  the  burden  will  clear 
its  own  way  at  the  cost  of  all  resisting  objects  and  persons. 

These  narrow  and  crowded  streets  have  a  gay  and  ani- 
mated appearance.  The  shop-signs,  about  a  foot  wide  by 
five  or  six  in  length,  are  suspended  vertically  beside  the 
doors.  They  are  of  bright  vermillion  or  jet  black  colors, 
finely  varnished,  and  lettered  in  gold,  and  presenting,  in 
the  long  vista  of  these  narrow  alleys,  a  very  gay  appear- 
ance. The  shops  themselves  are  perfect  cabinets,  especially 
those  of  the  apothecaries  and  perfumers,  the  bottles  and 
jars  being  gayly  ornamented,  so  as  to  give  a  harmonious 
effect  to  the  whole  arrangement.  The  hat  stores,  with 
their  elegant  and  plumed  mandarin  hats,  are  also  very 
striking.  The  same  neatness  and  order  prevail  in  every 
shop.  Every  parcel,  bundle,  roll,  etc.,  has  its  own  shelf 
and  niche  in  which  it  is  deposited  when  not  wanted  for  use. 

The  most  fascinating  street,  however,  to  the  stranger,  is 
that  whose  character  is  well  indicated  by  its  name,  "  Curi- 
osity street."  This  is  sliglitly  Avider  than  the  streets' gen- 
erally, and  shows  to  good  efliect  its  bright  lines  of  uji  nnd 


280  IX     CHINA. 

down  signs.  The  stores  on  this  sti'eet  ate  museums,  being 
filled  with  carved  ebony  furniture,  tables  of  curious 
marbles,  inlaid  Avork,  antique  porcelain,  fantastic  bronzes, 
bijouterie  cut  from  various  stones,  metallic  mirrors  reflect- 
ing from  the  polished  front  surface  certain  figures  molded 
on  the  back,  and  many  other  rare  and  curious  articles. 

Convenient  divisions  of  the  streets,  near  the  intersec- 
tions of  others,  are  assigned  for  marketing  purposes. 
There  are  no  market-bouses,  but  the  supplies  are  set  out 
on  each  side  of  the  street,  and  all  in  the  neatest  and  most 
inviting  manner ;  the  meats  and  plucked  poultry  are  clean 
and  smooth,  the  latter  very  white ;  the  vegetables  look 
fresh,  and  the  crabs  are  moving  in  a  lively  manner  under 
fine  streams  of  water,  which  also  play  over  the  fish  laid 
on  inclined  planes.  The  narrowness  of  the  streets  of 
Canton  at  first  appears  to  be  in  bad  judgment,  and  would 
not  seem  to  be  favorable  to  cleanliness;  but  the  protec- 
tion which  is  seciired  from  the  burning  sun,  and  the 
chimney-like  drafts  created  in  these  narrow  avenues,  are 
great  advantages.  Sewers  pass  under  the  streets,  Avhich 
are  washed  out  by  the  tides  of  the  Canton  river,  carry- 
ing ofi"  the  filth.  Each  street,  too,  where  it  passes  into 
another,  has  heavy  gates,  so  that  the  inhabitants  and 
police  of  a  hmited  district  have  it  under  their  control.  In 
case  of  a  riot  or  violence  in  one  street,  by  closing  the 
gates  by  which  it  opens  into  others,  the  disturbance  is 
limited  to  its  origin,  and  more  easily  suppressed,  and 
neighboring  districts  avoid  all  implication.  At  night  all 
these  gates  are  closed,  and  each  district  shut  up  within 
itself 

It  rained,  rained,  day  and  night,  in  heavy  torrents,  dur- 
ing my  visit  to  Canton,  and  when  the  flood-tides  came  in, 
the  streets  were  under  water.  The  water  was  particularly 
deep  around  the  foreign  factories,  so  that  at  first  we  were 
prisoners  during  several  hours  of  the  day ;  subsequently, 


CANTON,     THE     CITY    OF     RAMS.  281 

the  waters  were  so  high  that  the  lower  floors  or  stones 
were  entirely  overflown,  and  the  only  mode  of  getting 
about  was  by  boats.  Thousands  of  the  Cantonese  lost 
their  lives  by  this  flood,  and  even  this  abundance  of  water 
did  not  save  them  from  the  aflliction  of  fire ;  for,  in  the 
midst  of  the  rains,  a  quarter  of  boats  floating  on  the  river 
— flower  boats — gaily  gilded  and  ornamented — the  scenes 
of  the  grossest  Chinese  revelry  and  debauchery — took 
fire,  and  lives  were  lost,  variously  estimated  from  hun- 
dreds to  a  thousand.  They  were  chiefly  those  of  the 
women  who  had  abandoned  themselves  to  this  life  of 
licentiousness ;  but  there  Avere  also  several  young  Chi- 
nese students,  who  had  just  taken  high  collegiate  honors, 
and  were  celebrating  their  triumph  in  these  dens  of  dis- 
sipation— a  terrible  passage  from  an  intellectual  glory  to 
a  death  of  shame. 

These  terrible  rains  were  an  annoyance  to  us,  but  in 
the  future,  death  and  desolation  to  awful  masses  from 
the  nearly  four  hundred  millions  of  Chinese.  There  are 
now  lying  before  me  on  my  table  a  mass  of  dirty,  green 
greasy-looking  copper  coin,  each  one  about  the  size  of  a 
twelve  and  a  half  cent  piece,  and  having  a  hole  perforated 
through  the  centre.  This  coin  is  called  Cash,  and  about 
twelve  hundred  of  them  make  the  dollar.  They  are 
strung  on  bamboo  fibre  in  masses  of  one  hundred  each, 
or  about  eight  cents,  and  immense  masses  of  tliese  are 
piled  up  on  the  counters  of  the  bankers,  brokers  and 
money  changers.  Yet  this  small  coin,  a  single  "  cash,"  this, 
in  value,  infinitesimal  currency,  is  a  medium  of  purchase 
with  the  Chinese,  and  becomes  an  index  of  the  low  cost 
of  subsistence.  One  hundred  cash  may  be  considered  a 
large  daily  expense,  hence  a  rise  in  the  price  of  rice,  a 
doubling  of  its  value,  may  put  the  moans  of  subsistence 
out  of  the  power  of  many  families,  and  doom  them  to 
starvation.     Three  days'  rain  at  the  season  of  harvest  will 


282  IN  CHINA. 

do  this  ;  what  then  must  be  the  terrible  consequences  of 
these  dehigcs  at  this  time  ?  Much  of  the  grain  is  just 
ripenhig,  much  has  been  cut,  and  is  in  shock  in  the  field. 
Rice  has  already  doubled  in  value,  and  the  first  moans  of 
the  coming  agony  are  heard  in  the  report,  the  domes- 
tics bring  in,  of  the  pinching  hunger,  already  experienced, 
among  their  families  and  in  their  association.  Although 
families  employ  a  host  of  servants  in  this  country,  by  a 
curious  system  there  are  none  of  them  fed  in  the  family, 
but  support  themselves.  They  generally  pay  so  much  to  a 
comprador  to  supply  them ;  from  a  dollar  and  a  half  to 
two  dollars  a  month. 

During  the  last  scarcity,  a  year  or  two  ago,  the  suffer- 
ing became  so  enormous  as  to  paralyze  even  the  hope  of 
relief,  and  those  taking  their  evening  walk  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  cities,  would  pass  not  unfrequently  on  the 
road  side  the  bodies  of  those  who  had  laid  them  down 
and  died  for  want  of  food.  With  such  experiences  as 
these,  how  greatly  must  every  American  rejoice  in  the 
fi-eedom  of  his  own  happy  country  from  such  dire  distress. 
Poverty  is  an  inconvenience,  and  may  entail  the  sweat- 
ing brow,  but,  in  drought  and  flood,  there  is  enough  for 
all;  where  one  case  of  starvation  rouses  the  indignant 
symjDathies  of  whole  communities,  and  none  sit  down  in 
unfeeling  apathy  to  see  entire  families  of  whole  districts, 
the  pining  infant  and  indurated  old  age,  passing  out  of 
life  for  want  of  food.  There  must  be  something  radically 
wrong  in  the  social  arrangements  of  humanity  to  produce 
such  results,  or  there  must  be  some  unseen  ulterior  de- 
signs of  Providence  to  be  efl:ected  by  such  sacrifices,  like 
the  good  which  grows  out  of  the  volcano,  the  storm, 
the  earthquake  and  the  pestilence.  One  age  records 
the  misery,  another  the  tenfold  blessing  growing  out 
of  it. 

These  food  necessities  of  China  are  driving  its  inhabit- 


CANTON,     THE     CITY     OF     EAMS.  283 

ants  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  who  shall  foretell  the 
result?  The  Coolie  trade  is  carrying  Chinese  and  Chi- 
nese institutions  into  various  parts  of  the  globe.  The  first 
and  a  heavy  wave  broke  upon  the  United  States  at  Cal- 
ifornia, and  they  have  even  been  imi^orted  for  the  use  of 
Kentucky  iron  furnaces. 

About  the  time  we  went  up  to  Canton  there  seemed  to 
be  an  unusual  degree  of  fermentation  in  the  Cliinese  mind 
of  that  city,  and  an  increase  of  its  hostility  to  foreigners. 
It  was  the  first  rumbling  of  the  storm  of  war  which  broke 
forth  the  following  fall.  Inflammatory  placards  were  put 
before  the  public,  urging  it  to  expel  the  foreign  barbarians 
and  drive  them  into  the  sea.  This  aggravated  state  of  feel- 
ing is  supposed  to  be  caused  by  the  outrages  of  the  Coolie 
trade  ;  in  which  public  Chinese  opinion  implicates  all  foi*- 
eigners. 

This  feeling  of  animosity  is  always  sufficiently  active 
among  the  Cantonese.  It  is  correctly  set  forth  by  the 
following  remarks  from  the  Chinese  Repository  :* 

"  Foreigners,  in  their  limited  walks,  are  seldom  or  never 
accompanied  by  native  gentlemen.  Few,  if  any  respect- 
able Chinese,  are  willing  to  be  seen  abroad  in  company 
with  Europeans  ;  nor  is  this  strange  when  we  bear  in  mind 
the  fact,  that  wherever  the  foreigner  goes,  he  is  sure  to 
be  assailed  with  ofibusive  language,  not  to  say  sticks, 
stones,  brickbats,  and  so  forth. 

"  It  is  not  so  at  the  north ;  but  here,  no  matter  who  the 
foreigner  may  be,  or  where  he  may  go,  if  he  but  api^ears 
in  European  costume,  and  goes  among  the  common  peo- 
ple, he  is  sure  to  have  volleys  of  vile  epithets  heaped  on 
him.  By  some,  by  most,  these  are  overlooked  or  un- 
heeded. This  is  the  cheapest  and  the  wisest  policy.  By 
others,  they  are  fi'owned  at ;  and  by  now  and  then  one 
they  are  recompensed  vi  et  armis.     The  use  of  these 

*  Vol.  XV. 


284  IN     CHINA. 

terms  docs  not  give  unequivocal  evidence  of  malice  pre- 
pense or  of  a  malicious  heart ;  but  thej  always  grate 
harshly  on  the  ear,  and  ought  not  to  be  allowed.  J^Un 
hwey^fdn  Jcwey  po,  f&n  kwey  tsae,  and  others  too  vile  to 
be  repeated,  are  the  offspring  of  none  other  than  base 
feelings,  and  as  such  they  can  not  be  too  strongly  repro- 
bated." 

In  the  month  of  June  immediately  preceding  our  visit 
in  July  to  Canton,  the  following  inflammatory  handbUl 
was  placarded  on  the  walls  of  Canton : — 

TRANSLATION. 

"  The  absence  of  interruption  to  the  peace  of  the  coun- 
try is  of  the  same  vital  importance,  in  our  opinion,  as  the 
maintenance  of  regularity  in  the  avocations  of  its  inhabit- 
ants. We  now  call  public  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  the 
province  of  Canton,  from  the  earliest  to  the  present  times, 
barbarians  have  never  been  allowed  to  go  into  the  villages. 
Recently,  however,  a  set  of  unprincipled  vagabonds  have 
been  met  with,  who,  without  any  fear  of  sharae  or  expo- 
sure, carry  on  a  secret  intercourse  wath  the  barbarian  dogs, 
and  combine  with  them  in  a  number  of  ways  for  working 
out  their  crafty  schemes.  Night  and  day,  we  see  them 
entering  the  villages,  and  occasioning  so  much  trouble  by 
their  irregularities,  that  gods  and  men  must  unite  in  de- 
testation of  their  practices.  To  judge  of  the  extent  of  tlie 
evil  to  which  our  provincial  metropolis  is  thus  exposed,  we 
have  only  to  look  to  Shanghae  and  Plong  Kong,  and  take 
note  of  the  iniquities  that  are  there  committed. 

"Hereafter,  therefore,  whenever  any  barbarian  dogs 
come  within  our  limits,  we  ought,  by  calling  together  our 
families,  to  maintain  the  dignity  of  our  city  (or  province), 
and,  bravely  rushing  upon  them,  kill  every  one.  Thus 
may  we,  in  the  first  place,  appease  the  anger  of  Heaven  ; 
in  the  second,  give  evidence  of  our  loyalty  and  patriotism ; 


CANTOX,     THE     CITY     OF     R  A.  M  S  .  285 

and,  in  the  third,  restore  peace  and  quiet  to  our  homes. 
How  great  would  be  the  happiness  we  should  thus  secure." 

Mr.  Parkes,  her  Majesty's  Consul,  himself  very  familiar 
with  Canton,  very  kindly  proffered  to  accompany  me  in 
a  walk  around  the  walls  of  the  city,  a  distance  of  seven 
miles. 

But  not  wishing  to  impose  upon  him  a  labor  of  so  little 
interest  to  himself,  I  declined  his  offer;  and  not  realizing 
the  danger  of  the  hostile  spirit  of  the  Cantonese,  although 
on  the  2d  of  July  two  English  gentlemen  had  been  at- 
tacked while  rowing,  I  arose  early  on  the  morning  of  the 
22d  of  that  month,  and,  with  a  sedan  chair  and  three 
coolies,  started  on  the  exploration  by  myself.  The  chair 
I  had  taken  as  much  to  have  the  chair-coolies  as  guides, 
as  for  a  conveyance,  and,  therefore,  seldom  used  it  except 
in  the  more  filthy  and  muddy  part  of  the  route. 

The  high,  heavy  and  parapeted  city  wall,  through  most 
of  its  circuit  has  small  Chinese  shops  and  dwellings  built 
beyond  it,  with  only  a  narrow  filthy  lane  between  them 
and  the  wall ;  and  at  the  early  hour  of  my  journey  the  air 
was  loaded  with  all  villainous  smells.  Beyond  these  dis- 
gusts, and  the  occasional  abuse  of  boys  and  cries  oi  Fan 
kwti^  I  met  no  disturbance  in  the  first  part  of  my  route  ; 
and  things  became  more  interesting  as  I  came  out  back  of 
the  city  into  green  fields  and  neat  vegetable  gardens. 
Here,  however,  on  the  path  side,  I  saw  the  repulsive  spec- 
tacle of  a  dead  Chinaman  lying  just  as  he  had  sunk  down 
to  die,  as  his  attenuated  form  indicated,  of  starvation.  No 
more  attention  was  paid  to  the  body  by  the  passers-by 
than  if  it  had  been  that  of  a  dog  or  a  cat.  . 

I  had  nearly  passed  this  open  space,  and  was  again  ap- 
proaching the  dense  outside  settlements  which  the  wall 
penetrated,  and  was  walking  ahead  of  my  chair,  when  I 
came  under  the  observation  of  a  group  of  rascals  sitting  in 
one  of  the  parapet  towers  of  the  wall.     From  the  energy 


286  IN     CHINA. 

with  -svliich  they  sj^rang  to  their  foot  and  cried  out,  Fan 
Jcwei^  I  auticipated  some  mischief^  but  kept  on  my  way, 
not  takinc:  any  notice  of  them,  until  their  loud  curses  were 
substantially  accompanied  by  missiles.  A  stone  struck  me 
on  the  head,  or  rather  on  the  thick-crowned  rice  paper  or 
pith  hat  which  I  fortunately  had  on.  It  cut  into  the  half- 
inch  thickness  of  this  with  sufficient  force  to  show  how 
serious  the  blow  would  have  been  had  I  worn  my  cloth  cap. 
Involuntarily  I  turned,  and  shaking  my  fist  at  the  party, 
threatened  them  with  the  vengeance  of  the  mandarins. 
As  soon  as  I  Avalked  beyond  their  view  I  got  into  my 
chaii'.  It  was  well  I  did  so,  for  the  crowded  rabble  among 
which  I  now  passed  in  the  narrow  lanes  manifested  the 
greatest  hostility.  The  obnoxious  cries  sounded  ahead  of 
me  in  the  streets,  before  the  chair  could  be,  amid  the 
crowd,  visible  to  those  uttering  them  ;  and  men  would 
rush  up  ferociously  to  the  side  of  the  chair,  as  if  bent  on 
violence.  But  my  coolies  were  as  anxious  to  get  rid  of 
their  burden  as  I  was  to  be  released  from  the  whole  party. 
They  kept  on  a  very  fast  walk,  approaching  a  dog-trot ; 
and  I  suspect  if  any  thing  had  arrested  the  progress  of  the 
chair,  a  violent  assault  would  have  been  made  upon  me. 
I  was  very  much  gratified  to  find  myself,  after  a  three 
hours'  journey  around  the  walls  of  Canton,  once  more 
safely  in  the  sanctuary  of  the  foreign  Hongs. 

This  ferocity  of  the  Cantonese  is  not  alone  manifested 
in  regard  to  foreigners ;  it  is  the  essential  character  of 
the  whole  province,  as  described  by  native  writers.  So 
prone  are  they  represented  to  be  to  fightings  and  dis- 
turbances, that  conflicting  and  hostile  parties  will  ally 
themselves  to  drive  ofi"  the  authorities  who  would  seek 
to  mterfere  with  their  amiable  and  aiFectionate  sports  — 
parents  and  children,  brother  and  brethren  engaged  in 
conflict  with  each  other ;  and  the  inhabitants  of  modern 
Kwangtung  are,  equally  with  those  described  by  the  an- 


MACAO,     THE     CITY      OF     CAIIOEXS.        287 

cient  native  historians,  "  fond  of  what  belongs  to  dem- 
ons." But  since  my  visit,  the  foreign  factories.  Old  China, 
New  China,  and  Curiosity  streets  have  all  disappeared 
before  the  flames  of  war,  and  the  sealed  streets  of  the 
City  of  Rams  have  been  opened  to  the  free  foot  of  the 
Fankwei. 


XXIY. 

MACAO, 

THE     CITY      OF     CAMOENS. 

"  My  cradle  was  the  couch  of  Care, 
And  Sorrow  rocked  me  in  it ; 
Fate  seemed  her  saddest  robe  to  wear 
On  the  first  day  that  saw  me  there, 
And  darkly  shadowed  with  despair 
ily  earhest  minute. 

"  For  I  was  made  in  Joy's  despite, 
And  meant  for  Miseiy's  slave  ; 
And  all  my  hours  of  brief  delight 
Fled,  like  the  speedy  winds  of  night, 
"Which  soon  shall  wheel  their  suUen  flight 
Across  my  grave." 
— Camoens,  translated  by  Lord  Sirangford. 


"Porta  do  Nomo  de  Deos,"  "Porta  do  Amacao,"  "  Cidado  do  Santo 
Nomo  de  Deos  de  Macao,"  and,  as  a  final  contraction,  "Macao"  alone. 

Ix  these  latter  days  Macao,  to  the  traveler,  is  Camoens, 
as  Stratford'upon-Avon  is  Shakspeare.  Hence  my  mel- 
ancholy quotations  from  the  composition  of  the  poet,  as 
I  draw  near  the  place  which  is  eminent  as  the  refuge  of 
the  fortune-stricken  bard,  and  the  locaUty  of  the  solitary 
cave  in  which  he  nursed  his  muse. 

I  have  much  respect  and  admiration  for  decayed  gentry  ; 


288  IN     CHINA. 

those  who  show  forth  the  dignity  and  refinement  of  past 
state  and  pomp  beneath  the  softening  influences  of  pres- 
ent privation  and  adversity.  They  present  the  pictur- 
esque in  the  social  scene,  as  the  crumbling  tower,  touched 
by  the  setting  sun,  does  in  the  natural. 

Therefore  such  old  towns  as  Macao  are  pleasant  to  me, 
made  up  of  great  massy  old  houses,  surrounded  by  grounds 
darkened  by  trees  and  tangled  in  shrubbery,  which,  with 
the  crabbed  independence  of  age,  has  a  will  of  its  own, 
above  all  trimmings  and  trainings.  The  families  occupy- 
ing these  homes — pleasant,  quiet  people,  they  are,  every 
one  says — how  they  live,  no  one  knows — are  polished, 
dignified,  unobtrusive,  and  always  seeming  to  say,  by 
their  amiable,  mild  deportment,  "  It  is  afiection,  not  pride, 
which  makes  us  cling  to  the  old  home,  and  the  associa- 
tions of  aU  that  is  left  us — our  family  history."  What 
have  sucli  people  to  do  with  the  fuss,  and  struggle,  and 
turmoil  of  the  present  ?  Their  lives  are  in  the  past ; 
they  are  dreamy-looking  people  ;  even  the  children  look 
so,  and  all  the  family  have  their  hopes  resting  upon  that 
thoughtful-looking  boy  and  pensive  girl,  who  are  just 
coming  into  life.  By  them  the  sinking  star  of  the  house 
is  to  close  in  darkness  or  rise  to  its  former  brilliancy. 

There  is  a  charming  contrasted  repose  in  such  a  quiet 
old  town  as  Macao  to  one  who,  three  hours  before,  leaves 
the  upstart,  fussy  pretension  of  Hong  Kong,  where  every- 
body is  trying  to  be  somebody,  and  nobody  believes  that 
anybody  else  is  any  thing. 

The  natural  site  of  Macao  is  picturesque.  It  climbs  up 
the  sides  and  through  the  ravines  of  a  group  of  hills,  the 
summits  of  which  are  topped  by  old  castles  and  convents. 

Conspicuous  among  the  ruins  of  Macao,  on  one  of  these 
hill-tops,  is  the  front  wall  of  an  old  church,  standing  out 
sharp  and  clear  upon  its  elevation.  Only  this  front  wall 
remains,  its  ragged  edges  and  window-openings  cushioned 


MACAO,      THE     CITY      OF     CAMOJiXS.        289 

with  moss  and  fringed  with  the  wild  foUage  which  time 
has  planted. 

The  stoue-faced  mole,  or  praya,  which  curves  in  front  of 
the  city,  was  in  former  days  the  scene  of  a  bustling  com- 
merce, but  is  now  the  pleasant,  quiet  promenade  of  those 
who  have  nothing  better  to  do.  Besides  this  Portuguese 
and  foreign  Macao,  thei'e  is,  in  the  low  grounds  of  the  city, 
a  dense  mass  of  a  Chinese  town  ;  and  the  combined  popu- 
lation, Portuguese,  foreign,  Chinese,  Malay,  and  mixed,  is 
about  thirty  thousand.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Tigris,  and 
as  a  sea-port  of  Canton  before  Hong  Kong  sprung  up, 
Macao  had  a  day  of  commercial  prosperity.  For  over 
three  hundred  years  it  has  been  a  foreign  settlement.  The 
general  impression  is,  that  it  was  given  the  Portuguese 
as  a  reward  for  their  having  suppressed  j^iracy  on  the 
coast.  But  there  is  no  evidence  that  there  has  ever  been 
any  relinquishment  of  sovereignty  on  the  part  of  the  Chi- 
nese authorities.  The  Portuguese  claim  seems  to  be  but 
that  of  possession,  at  first  tolerated,  then  j)ermitted,  and 
now  acknowledged,  in  fact  if  not  in  name. 

Provisions  are  abundant  and  good ;  the  climate  pleas- 
ant and  healthful,  and  it  is  the  chosen  retreat  of  the  busi- 
ness-worn merchants  of  Canton  and  Hong  Kong,  the 
refuge  of  those  whose  fortunes  have  been  broken,  and 
the  residence  of  the  foreign  legations,  all  of  whom  make 
up  an  agreeable  society,  whose  chief  occupation  and 
amusement  is  social  intercourse.  The  English  and  Ameri- 
can difficulties  with  the  Chinese,  and  the  blockade  of  Can- 
ton have  somewhat  revived  the  activity  of  Macao.  Even 
in  the  worst  times  there  is  always  some  animation  on 
the  praya,  and  the  sea  which  washes  it,  in  the  group  of 
Tanka  boats,  and  the  girls  who,  I  was  going  to  say,  man 
them,  and  as  these  girls  really  do  the  hard  labor  of. 
men,  the  nautical  verb  may  remain.  Those  picturesque, 
white-teethed,  laughing-mouthed,  bandana  kerchief-head- 

13 


290  IN      CHINA. 

ed  nymjihs,  live  on  the  water,  and  make  their  living  by 
landing  passengers  from  the  steamers  Avhich  run  between 
Macao  and  Ilong  Kong — and  did  in  time  past  run  be- 
tween this  port  and  Canton — and  in  rowing  to  the  batt- 
ing places  the  business  and  dissipation-worn  wretches  who 
retreat  for  a  few  weeks  to  Macao  to  tone  up.  And  at 
these  bathing  places,  too  often  the  unblushing  immod- 
esty of  the  civilized  Christian  belies  his  countiy  and  his 
training,  and  outrages  those  whose  necessities  compel 
them  to  do  him  service. 

The  commercial  foreign  resident  of  China  too  often 
looks  upon  the  native  as  in  no  wise  superior  to  brute 
beasts,  and  an  abiding  contempt  of  the  judgment  and 
ability  of  missionaries  on  the  part  of  the  commercial  com- 
munity rests  partly  upon  the  fact  that  missionaries  will 
regard  Chinese  as  human  beings ;  partly,  perhaps,  upon 
the  fact  that  those  who  make  wealth  their  aim,  have  a  pity 
for  the  stu^Didity  of  those  who  live  for  other  objects. 

The  Tanka  boat  peo2:)le  are  said  to  be  of  an  unknown 
race,  distinct  from  Tartar  or  Chinese.  They  have  their 
own  customs ;  the  females  never  contract  their  feet ;  they 
marry  among  themselves.  Where  the  men  live,  and  how, 
I  do  not  know. 

Among  the  various  kinds  of  barometers,  natural  and 
artificial,  few  are  more  accurate  than  these  Tanka  boat- 
girls.  The  wind  is  a  little  fresh  this  evening — nothing 
remarkable;  the  bay  is  just  tossed  into  short  curling 
waves — not  so  rough,  but  that  the  freshness  rather  invites 
you  to  go  before  it,  and  take  a  pull  in  a  Tanka  boat.  You 
can  not  do  it.  See  now  what  an  animated  scene  the  praya 
presents.  Life  has  rushed,  or  is  rushing,  up  from  the 
water  to  the  land.  The  damsels  are  helping  each  other, 
pulling  and  tugging,  dragging  their  boats  up  the  inclined 
planes  of  the  stone  jetty,  and  moving  them  on  rollers  up 
j^nd  down  the  praya,  until  they  form  a  village  of  mat- 


MACAO,     THE     CITY    OF     C  A  M  O  £  ST  S  .        291 

roofed  houses.  You  had  bettei-  not  try  your  water  ex- 
cursion now,  even  if  you  could  persuade  the  ladies  to 
take  you.  Go  home,  if  you  happen  to  have  a  home,  and 
care  any  thing  for  it ;  and  put  in  your  heavy  typhoon 
bars  over  doors  .and  windows,  and  most  likely  before 
morning  comes  these  bars  will  be  bending  like  twigs.  I 
have  heard  the  winds  in  these  tempests  come  dashing 
against  the  windows  in  gusty  blasts,  until  the  stout  bars 
bowed  and  bent,  as  though  they  must  violently  break 
and  open  the  room  to  the  tempest.  During  my  residence 
on  the  coast  of  China,  there  came  one  of  these  typhoons 
so  violently  and  suddenly  at  Macao,  as  to  grind  up  the 
boats  which  were  caught  out,  and  destroy  many  lives. 

Macao  rests  its  association  with  genius  not  alone  upon 
the  fame  of  Camoens.  It  has  also  that  of  the  painter 
Chinnery.  "  Who  Avas  Chinnery  ?"  I  dare  say  most  of  you 
will  ask.  He  died  at  Macao  where  he  had  lived  for  some 
time,  an  octogenarian  genius,  too  great  a  man  intrinsically 
to  be  little  great  externally.  He  loved  the  productions 
of  his  talent  better  than  he  did  fame  or  money.  With  a 
few  single  touches  of  his  pen  or  unstudied  dashes  of  his 
brush,  he  produced  living  eifects  v>'hich  no  care  and  elab- 
oration of  the  less  gifted  could  effect.  Many,  especially 
in  Philadelphia,  may  have  seen  the  engraving  by  Sartain 
of  the  old  Chinese  merchant,  Howqua,  after  an  original 
painting  by  Chinnery.  In  the  twelfth  chapter  of  "  The 
N"ewcomes,"  Thackery  pays  a  tribute  to  his  skill  in  the 
words  of  Colonel  Newcome :  "  Chinnery  himself,  sir,  could 
not  hit  a  likeness  better." 

After  his  death  the  fragments  of  his  studio  and  port- 
folio were  sold  at  very  high  rates. 

Regarding  Macao  as  associated  with  the  only  gi-eat 
poem  the  Portuguese  have  produced,  there  is  a  harmony 
in  its  decay  which  makes  it  the  fitting  monument  of  the 
man  who  wandered,  the  world  over,  the  victim  of  thwarted 


292  IN     CHINA. 

first  love ;  who,  born  noble,  sustained  his  existence  by  the 
begging  of  his  negro  slave,  and  ended  his  life  in  a  hospital. 
As  a  bfoken  column  emblems  the  useful  life  cut  short,  the 
loucly  cavern  aud  the  crumbling  city  may  emblem  such  a 
genius  in  ruin,  and  the  gloom  of  its  existence. 

In  admiration  for  a  genius  which  has  passed  from  earth, 
we  lose  sight  of  the  great  alloy  which  may  have  adulter- 
ated the  pure  metal  of  that  genius,  and  are  too  prone 
to  visit  with  our  censure  and  indignation  the  age  and  the 
people  which  have  failed  to  surround  its  possessor  with 
wealth,  luxury  aud  splendor  proportioned  to  the  magnitude 
m  which  the  immortal  abstraction  has  come  down  to  us. 

We  remember  Camoens  and  the  Lusiad,  the  beggar 
poet  and  the  alms-house  death-bed ;  we  generously  but  un- 
justly forget  how  much  the  poet  had  to  do  with  making 
his  own  bed.  According  to  those  compensations  which 
conserve  a  healthful  society,  his  life  may  have  naturally 
tended  to  this  one  end.  He  had  devoted  himself  to  pas- 
sion, to  love,  to  licentious  love,  than  which  there  can  be 
no  perversion  of  the  human  faculties  more  purely  selfish, 
no  exertion  of  them  which  makes  so  Uttle  claim  upon  so- 
ciety, none  which  so  physically  effeminates  and  morally  in- 
durates the  individual,  and  renders  him  unfit  for  the  love  of 
useful  labor  which  has  its  reward  in  accumulating  comfort. 

Camoens  had  evidently  made  his  bargain  with  life  and 
written  it  out : — 

"  Why  should  I  pant  for  sordid  gain  ? 
Or  why  ambition's  voice  beUeve? 
Since,  dearest,  thou  dost  not  disdain 
The  only  gift  I  have  to  give. 

"  Time  would  with  speed  of  Ughtuing  flee, 
And  every  hour  a  comfort  bring. 
And  days  and  years,  employed  for  thee, 
Shake  pleasures  from  their  passing  wing." 

Such  was  his  bargain,  and  verily  he  had  his  reward. 


MACAO,     THE     CITY     OF     CAMOENS.         293 

"  Gallantry,"  says  a  biographer,  "  was  tlie  leading  trait  in 
the  disposition  of  Camoens.  His  amours  were  various  and 
successful.  His  own  words,  in  his  last  days  of  poverty  and 
wretchedness,  are  the  most  forcible  commentary  of  the 
result  of  his  bargain,  and  how  rigidly  he  was  held  to  it : — 

"  Alas,  Avhen  I  was  a  poet  I  was  young,  and  happy,  and 
blest  with  the  love  of  ladies;  but  now,  I  am  a  folorn, 
devoted  wretch !  See,  there  stands  my  poor  Antonio, 
vainly  supplicating  fourpence  to  purchase  a  little  coals. 
I  have  them  not  to  give  him." 

His  ovra  verse  has  hinted  the  justice  of  his  experience : — 

"  I  saw  the  virtuous  man  contend 
With  life's  unnumbered  woes, 
And  he  was  poor,  without  a  friend, 
Pressed  by  a  thousand  foes. 

"  I  saw  the  Passions'  pliant  slave 
In  gallant  trim  and  gay ; 
His  course  was  Pleasure's  placid  wave. 
His  lil'e  a  summer  day. 

"  And  I  was  caught  in  FoUy  s  snare. 
And  joined  her  giddy  train. 
But  found  her  soon  the  nurse  of  Care, 
And  Punishment,  and  Pain. 

"  There  surely  is  some  guiding  power 
Which  rightly  suffers  wrong, 
Gives  vice  to  bloom  its  little  hour, 
But  virtue  late  and  long." 

The  cave  of  Camoens  is  in  the  grounds  of  a  private 
residence.  It  has  been  so  perverted  by  art  as  to  lose  all 
that  is  picturesque. 

During  the  whole  of  my  visit  to  Macao,  of  about  two 
weeks'  duration,  it  rained  incessantly — the  whole  country 
was  deluged — the  prospects  of  rice  diminished.  Faggots 
of  wood,  sold  as  fuel  by  weight,  increased  in  heaviness  by 


294  IN     CHINA. 

the  absoi'})tion  of  water,  and  also  iii  tlio  amount  of  cash 
to  bny  it ;  the  cries  of  the  poor  increased,  and  many  died 
of  starvation. 

It  was  during  this  residence  in  Macao  I  came  first  into 
contact  with  the  strange  lanffuacte  called  "  Pigeon  Ens:- 
lese"  (business  English).  It  is  in  use  not  only  between  Chi- 
nese and  EngUsh,  but  between  the  Chinese  themselves, 
when  they  speak  different  dialects.  "  Why  do  n't  you  do 
so  and  so  ?"  I  said  to  my  boy, 

"  My  got  too  much  pigeon"  (I  have  too  much  business). 

"How  can  do  that  pigeon?"  or  "My  no  makee  that 
pigeon,"  "My  no  savee  that  pigeon,"  equivalent  to  "I 
can  not  do  that." 

"  Missus  havee  got  ?"  you  say  to  the  boy  at  the  door, 
when  you  ask  for  the  lady  of  the  house,  and  he  answers 
you,  as  she  may  be  out,  or  up  stairs,  or  down  stairs, 

"  ISTo  got" — "  Havee  got  topside" — "  Havee  got  down- 
side." 

"Catchee  me  one  piece  glass  of  water — two  piece  of 
glass  of  water,"  or  "Catchee  me"  any  thing  you  want 
brought  you. 

"  Take  this  to  your  mistress,  and  tell  her  I  wUl  direct 
her  what  to  do  with  it  when  she  comes  down,"  I  said  to 
a  Chinese  boy  in  the  presence  of  an  old  resident.  He 
laughed  at  the  wondering  look  of  the  boy,  and  then  trans- 
lated for  me :  "  Talkee  Missus,  when  come  downside, 
Doctor  talkee  he  how  can  do  that  thing.  " 

Upon  one  occasion,  when  living  on  shore,  I  had  made 
arrangements  with  the  First  Lieutenant  for  a  sampan,  or 
Chinese  boat,  our  mess  had  employed,  to  call  every  morn- 
ing at  a  certain  place  and  wait  a  few  minutes  for  me,  in 
case  I  wished  to  go  off  at  that  hour.  The  man  called  sev- 
eral mornings  in  succession  without  my  going  down,  and 
thinking  it  labor  lost,  he  went  to  the  First  Lieutenant  and 
said,  in  a  tone  of  vexation — 


A     LOOK     AT     JAPAN.  295 

"  N"o  good  my  go  every  day.  N^o  can  catchee  that  piece 
of  Doctor." 

"  A  terrible  incident  associated  itself  with  my  visit  to 
Macao.  A  Dutch  ship,  the  Banca,  loaded  vrith  coolies, 
had  put  in  there — humanity  swapping  black  skin  for  yel- 
low. She  anchored  in  full  sight,  some  three  or  four  miles 
off  the  town.  As  I  walked  to  my  lodgings,  a  light  arose 
from  that  ship  ;  soon  her  hull  and  spars  were  lighted  up 
by  a  devouring  conflagration,  and  amid  the  light,  the 
human  forms  were  leaping  from  place  to  place,  and 
many  into  the  sea.  In  the  morning  her  burnt  hull  only 
remained.  A  mutiny  had  occurred  on  board  ;  the  cap- 
tain and  officers  trained  guns  from  the  quarter-deck  and 
fired  among  the  dense  mass  ;  the  conflagration  ensued  by 
accident  or  design,  and  of  five  hundred  only  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  escaped. 


XXV. 

A    LOOK    AT   JAPAN. 


On  Tuesday,  August  12,  we  again  left  Hong  Kong  for 
that  eremitical  empire  which  prefers  seclusion  and  domes- 
tic quiet  to  the  activity  of  commerce  and  the  cares  oi 
money-getting.  This  time  every  thing  seemed  to  favor 
our  voyage,  and,  with  wind  and  steam,  our  ship  did  bet- 
ter than  she  had  done  yet  this  ci*uise— made  twelve  knots 
an  hour.  With  this  speed  we  ran  through  the  channel 
between  the  mainland  and  Formosa ;  but  in  two  days 
more,  as  we  passed  the  north  of  the  island,  things  changed. 
The  barometer  became  unsettled,  the  weather  rainy,  wind 
unsteady  and  finally  ahead,  reducing  our  speed  to  six 
knots.  The  sea  was  heavy,  and  compelled  the  closing 
of  our  little  vent-holes,  the  air-ports.  It  was  comfortless 
above,  and  miserably  wretched,  sea-sick  weather  below. 


296  IN     CillNA. 

"Whilst  thus  glooming  along,  we  were  roused  into  some 
excitement  by  seeing  the  surface  of  the  sea  clotted  with 
chests  or  cases  of  something.  Every  glass  in  the  ship  was 
brought  to  bear  upon  them.  In  every  direction  they  wei*e 
rising  and  falling  with  the  waves — carefully  wi-apj^ed  and 
strapped  boxes.  Our  avaricions  imaginations  looked  upon 
them  as  valuable  prizes.  Chests  of  tea  they  might  be, 
and  then  good  for  nothing ;  but  cases  of  silk  or  opium 
might  be  worth  picking  up.  A  boat  was  lowered,  and 
they  proved,  to  our  disappomtment,  nothing  more  than 
cases  of  dried  lichis,*  the  deck-load,  probably,  of  some 
wrecked  junk.  About  an  hour  afterwards,  another  ob- 
ject was  descried  fi'om  the  deck,  not  being  seen  by  the 
look-out  at  the  mast-head.  At  first  it  was  made  out 
to  be  a  spar — ^then  something  Hke  a  man  i;pon  it — then 
some  thought  they  saw  him  move  his  arms.  Man  or  not, 
he  was  broad  off  abeam  of  us,  and  it  was  only  a  chance 
we  did  not  j)ass  the  object  by.  A  boat  was  lowered,  in 
which  Lieutenant  Williamson  went  after  him,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  ship  headed  in  that  direction. 

It  was  a  solitary  Chinaman  floating  upon  a  slender 
bamboo  raft.  As  the  boat  approached  him,  he  threw 
up  his  hands,  bowed  his  head  and  burst  into  tears.  He 
had  strength  enough  left  to  step  into  the  boat,  but  im- 
mediately sank  beneath  exhaustion  and  the  revulsion 
consequent  upon  his  rapid  change  of  circumstances.  As 
he  came  over  the  side,  he  sank  on  his  knees  to  the  officer 
of  the  deck  who  received  him  at  the  gangway ;  and  as  I 
reached  out  my  hand  to  feel  his  pulse,  he  grasped  it  with 
both  his,  and  gave  this  expression  of  feehng  toward  every 
officer  who  approached  him.  His  hands  and  feet  were 
white,  and  shriveled  by  the  action  of  the  water. 

The  Chinese  servants  we  had  on  board  understood  him 
but  imperfectly,  and  we  could  not  make  much  of  his 
history.  He  had  belonged  to  a  junk,  on  its  way  from 
*  An  abundant  and  very  good  fruit  when  fresh. 


A     LOOK     AT     JAPAN.  297 

Canton  to  Shanghae ;  had  been  oi;t  now  half  a  month ; 
four  days  ago  they  were  overtaken  by  the  tempest,  in 
"which  all  of  thirty,  except  himself,  had  been  lost. 

Xot  long  after  this  a  sail  was  cried  from  the  mast-head, 
which  was  seen,  as  we  came  up  with  it,  to  be  a  dismasted 
and  wrecked  junk.  At  fii'st  we  supposed  it  to  be  aban- 
doned. There  were,  however,  twenty  to  thirty  persons 
on  board.  The  masts  were  all  gone,  except  the  foremast, 
and  the  rudder  lost.  As  we  came  up,  the  poor  wretches 
seemed  veiy  much  rejoiced,  and  by  way  of  expressing 
their  thankfulness  and  joy,  a  large  gong  was  held  up  and 
pounded  vigorously.  A  boat  was  sent  on  board  the 
wreck,  and  after  some  time  word  was  brought  back  that  3,11 
on  board  were  anxious  to  quit  the  wi*eck  excej^t  two  men, 
the  captain  and  owner,  who  wished  to  be  towed  into  safety. 
Upon  hearing  this  report,  orders  were  given  to  hoist  up 
our  boat,  and  leave  them  all  as  they  were,  except  that  a 
compass  was  sent  them.  Upon  seeing  our  movements, 
the  people  on  board  the  wreck  sent  forth  the  most  heart- 
rending shrieks  ;  some  threw  themselves  on  their  knees, 
some  jumped  about  frantically,  and  some  were  rapidly 
tossing  their  arms  into  the  air.  All  of  them,  including  the 
two  who  had  declined  abandoning  the  wreck,  joined  in 
these  demonstrations  of  despaii".  They  were  supposed 
to  be  forty  miles  from  an  uninhabited  island,  over  three 
himdied  from  the  mainland,  and  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  from  Formosa,  which  they  could  make. 

Whilst  we  were  engaged  with  this  wreck  two  others 
were  discovered,  both  apparently  dismasted — one  station- 
ary, and  one,  apparently  a  lorcha,  with  a  small  sail  on  a 
foremast,  was  under  Avay,  and  firing  guns  of  distress. 

We  stood  first  for  the  stationary  wreck,  and  found 
her  at  anchor,  with  the  rudder  and  all  the  masts  gone. 
There  were  ninety-four  persons  on  board,  including  eleven 
women.     Understood  them  to  say  they  did  not  wish  to 

13* 


298  IN     CHINA. 

leave  the  wreck,  and  sent  them  a  spar  and  sail.  The 
officer  who  took  these  aboard  says  that,  when  he  left,  the 
captain  commenced  crying,  and  many  of  the  others  clung 
to  his  legs.  It  must  be  considered  that  our  communica- 
tion with  these  distressed  "wretches  was  very  imperfect. 
Chinamen  do  not  understand  each  other,  unless  from  the 
same  district,  and  the  man  we  used  as  interpreter,  spoke 
English  imperfectly.  It  was  melancholy  to  think  of  how 
many  misunderstood,  or  unexpressed  hopes  and  sighs 
there  were  on  board  that  Avreck. 

We  now  turned  our  head,  just  before  dark,  to  the 
lorcha,  which  had  been  firing  signals  of  distress.  She 
had  approached  more  near  to  us  whilst  we  were  engaged 
with  the  other  wreck.  She  was  an  armed  government 
lorcha,  and  was  altogether  in  much  better  condition  than 
either  of  the  others ;  but  the  captain  and  officers  were 
willing  to  abandon  her,  although  informed  they  must 
leave  every  thing  behind,  except  their  clothing.  They 
did  so,  and  all,  to  the  number  of  fifty-three,  came  on 
board  of  us.  The  vessel  had  a  cargo  of  sugar,  and  twelve 
barrels  of  powder  in  her  magazine.  She  was,  however,  set 
fire  to.  During  the  night  we  came  up  with  another  junk, 
the  people  of  which  announced  by  loud  cries  their  want 
of  assistance.  They  were  in  want  of  water,  and  had  been 
suffei-ing  for  some  days  for  food,  the  destitution  of  water 
preventing  the  cooking  of  their  rice.  We  supplied  them 
with  four  hundred  gallons.     A  typhoon  had  preceded  us. 

On  Sunday,  the  IVth,  we  were  rolling  everything  about 
in  heavy,  rough  weather.  There  were  constant  rain- 
squalls,  and  the  barometer  fell  to  29°  40' — a  very,  very 
uncomfortable  day. 

Monday  18th  was  better,  though  the  sea  was  rough. 
The  sky  was  clear,  and  we  made  the  Lintochin  group  of 
lofVy  islands,  the  first  of  the  Japanese  empire  ;  and  after 
that,  with  a  dehghful  temperature,  a  smooth  sea,  a  gentle 


A     LOOK     AT     JAPAN.  299 

breeze  and  cool  nights — such  nights  for  sleeping ! — we  ran 
along  the  Japanese  empire,  hut  a  solitary  sail.  Here  we 
were,  on  the  coast  of  an  old  nation  of  a  population  greater 
than  that  of  the  United  States,  and  running  along  it  for 
hundreds  of  miles,  and  not  a  sign  of  that  prosperity  which 
is  indicated  by  the  word  so  dear  to  western  nations — 
commerce.  Whether  they  have,  in  such  isolation,  happi- 
ness, is  to  be  determined  by  a  decision  of  the  question 
whether  this  is  most  to  be  found  in  seclusion  or  in  the 
activities  of  life. 

On  the  22d,  we  made  the  harbor  of  Simoda,  off  which 
we  fell  in  with  a  large  fishing-fleet  of  Japanese.  They 
were  comfortable-looking  boats,  filled  with  robust  men, 
wearing  generally  broad  straw  flats  and  long  blue  calico 
gowns.  They  crowded  their  boats  up  on  both  sides  of 
our  ship,  and  supposing  they  wished  to  put  a  pilot  on 
board,  we  stopped,  but  no  one  could  be  induced  to  enter 
the  ship ;  they  waved  their  hands  in  the  direction  of 
Simoda,  and  altogether  seemed  kindly  disposed.  As  we 
drew  in  with  the  land  the  weather  became  thick  and 
rainy,  but  about  noon  we  ran  into  the  harbor  of  Simoda. 
As  we  entered  it  a  boat  was  seen  puUing  out  bearing  two 
flags,  the  Japanese,  three  horizontal  stripes,  two  white 
and  a  black  one  between  them,  and  the  other  one  our 
own  stars  and  stripes.  This  boat  brought  us  a  pilot,  a 
short,  full-faced,  respectable  individual,  in  straw  sandals, 
blue  stockings,  with  a  separate  place  for  the  great  toe, 
like  the  thumb  of  a  mitten,  and  affording  a  holding-place 
for  the  string  whicli  retained  the  sandal  to  the  foot ;  cot- 
ton trowsers,  tight  around  the  ankles  and  loose  and  baggy 
about  the  legs;  a  short  gown  of  similar  materials  crossing 
the  breast  in  intersected  folds.  Stuck  through  a  girdle, 
on  his  left  side,  was  a  short,  black-liandlcd,  black-scab- 
barded  sword,  but  his  head,  as  every  male  Japanese 
head  I  saw,  Avas  most  peculiarly  arranged  and  decorated. 


300  IN     CHINA. 

The  top,  from  the  forehead  to  a  little  back  of  the  vertex, 
and  for  a  breadth  of  three  inches,  was  clean-shaved.  The 
hair,  black  and  shining,  was  then  brought  up  from  the 
back  and  sides  of  the  head,  and  formed  into  a  smooth 
spike,  with  the  end  cut  even.  Being  bound  by  a  thread 
close  .to  the  scalp,  this  spike  made  first  a  short  bend 
back,  and  then  forward,  resting  like  a  piece  of  j^olished 
ebony  upon  the  shaved  surface.  This  functionary  drew 
from  the  folds  of  his  gown  a  box,  in  which,  carefully  pro- 
tected by  several  wrappers,  was  his  commission  as  pilot 
for  American  vessels,  given  him  by  Commodore  Perry, 
and  printed  in  English  and  Dutch,  by  the  "  Japan  Expe- 
dition press."  He  spoke  but  a  few  words  of  English,  and 
none  of  us  spoke  Japanese,  but  he  gav^e  us  to  understand, 
by  the  waving  of  his  hand,  when  we  were  to  go  to  star- 
board, or  port,  or  ahead. 

The  San  Jacinto  was  the  first  propeller  he  had  ever 
seen,  but  our  \-isitor  made  known  his  knowledge  of  the 
diflierence  between  a  side- wheel  steamer  and  a  propeller, 
first  paddling  with  both  hands,  and  then  pointing  with 
one  towards  the  stern,  and  mo^•ing  it  in  rapid  circles. 
The  Captain  and  he  cai'ried  on  an  animated  conversation 
in  gestures  which  employed  both  their  bodies  and  all 
their  limbs,  and  took  up  half  the  poop  deck.  It  far  ex- 
ceeded that  between  the  Spanish  j^rofessor  of  signs  and 
the  one-eyed  butcher  at  the  University  of  Glasgow. 

If,  perchance,  a  traveler  sets  his  eyes  upon  any  foreign 
country,  and  pretends  to  give  an  account  of  it,  it  seems 
to  be  a  modern  expectation  that  he  should  give  a  whole 
history  of  it — its  laws,  institutions,  manners,  and  customs. 
I  have  no  such  intuitively  observing  faculties.  It  is  true, 
I  might  begin  learnedly  with  Marco  Polo  and  Engelfeldt 
Kampfer,  but  so  many  of  late  have  disinterred  these  an- 
tiquities, that  even  their  names  are  no  longer  a  sign  of 
special  lore.     As  the  knowledge  of  Japan  seems  to  stop 


A     LOOK     AT     JAPAN.  801 

with  old  Kampfer,  I  am  not  sure  that  there  would  be 
any  great  want  of  charity  in  hoping  that  the  Japanese 
would  give  our  Consul  General  and  his  observant  secre- 
tary a  cage  journey  throughout  their  sealed  empire.  Of 
course  we  should  promptly  avenge  their  wrongs,  shake 
down  the  walls  of  exclusion,  and  make  peace  by  shaking 
hands  with  the  Siogoun  on  his  throne  in  Yedo,  and  then, 
for  once,  we  should  know  all  about  modern  Japan.  In- 
deed, the  interesting  revelations  and  observations  the 
prisoners  would  be  able  to  make,  the  wonderful  stories 
they  Avould  have  to  tell,  might  go  far  to  shorten  the  du- 
ration of  our  national  anger.* 

In  the  meantime,  I  must  paddle  my  little  canoe  near 
the  shore.  I  was  only  thirteen  days  in  Simoda,  and  did 
not  even  see  that  little  fishing  village ;  and  to  write  an 
account  of  Japan  from  the  most  thorough  observation  of 
such  a  point  would  be  as  though  one,  entirely  ignorant 
of  our  language,  should  write  his  views  of  the  United 
States,  east,  west,  north  and  south,  from  a  two  Aveeks' 
residence  at  Ocracoke  Inlet. 

What  I  could  do  to  see  something,  I  did.  I  studied 
the  country  in  the  only  place  where  the  people  and  the 
government  could  be  seen  together,  and  their  character- 
istic relations  developed — in  the  market-place,  the  bazaar 
— in  Japanese,  the  Goyosho. 

But  we  have  not  yet  got  in.  I  left  the  Captain  and  the 
dumj^y  pilot  gesticulating  on  the  poop  deck. 

As  the  ship  ran  into  the  harbor,  its  picturesque  beauties 
called  forth  general  admiration.  The  bay,  bounded  by  a 
chain  of  pointed  mountains,  clothed  with  vegetation  to 
their  very  summits,  and  the  steep  plains  and  valleys  run- 
ning up  between  these  mountains  are  neatly  cultivated  in 

*  We  arc  glad  to  leara  lliat  Mr.  Harris  has,  by  his  diplomatic  tact  and 
skill,  penetrated  to  the  imperial  residence  in  honorable  freedom,  and 
done  away  with  the  prospect  of  cage-traveling  in  tlio  future. 


302  IN     CHINA. 

terraces  or  shelves,  rising  one  above  another,  and  dimin- 
ishing in  breadth  until  they  terminate  in  the  deep  angle 
of  the  nook.  At  the  month  of  the  bay  we  passed  a  rug- 
ged, rocky  island,  overgrown  with  trees,  and  having  a 
cave,  into  which  the  sea  rushed,  arching  through  it;  and 
in  the  middle  of  the  bay  a  small,  craggy  rock  looked  as 
though  it  had  been  designedly  thrown  there  as  an  orna- 
mental support  for  the  shrubbery  which  dressed  without 
concealing  it.  At  first  Ave  began  to  be  suspicious  as  to 
the  existence  of  any  town,  but  presently  a  small  village, 
with  several  junks  lying  in  front  of  it,  made  its  appear- 
ance in  a  nook  to  the  right  hand.  This  was  the  village 
of  Kakizaki,  at  the  south-eastern  end  of  the  bay  ;  as  we 
ran  a  little  further  in,  we  observed  the  low  roofs  of 
Simoda  in  a  recess  of  the  bay  opposite  to  Kakizaki,  con- 
cealed by  a  projecting  point,  and  defended  from  the 
encroachments  of  the  sea  by  a  long,  well-built,  hewn- 
stone  breakwater,  with  a  narrow  channel  between  one 
end  and  the  rocky  shore,  for  the  passage  of  small  boats. 
About  half  way  between  the  two  towns,  we  dropped  our 
anchor  in  nine  fathoms  water. 

Soon  after,  a  boat  came  off  from  the  town,  bringing  a 
large  number  of  Japanese — several  persons  of  rank,  with 
their  attendants.  Nothing  of  western  costume  can  give 
an  idea  of  the  style  of  a  JajDanese  gentleman's  dress,  unless 
it  may  be  that  of  a  plain,  neat,  but  richly-dressed  Quakeress, 
just  attired  for  a  street  promenade.  The  pantaloons,  of 
silk,  rich  in  texture,  but  plain  and  soft  in  color  and  figure, 
have  each  leg  broad  and  ample  as  a  petticoat  itself  Their 
colors  are  lead  or  dove-color,  tea-green,  rich  browns,  or  fine 
blue  and  white  stripes.  These  petticoat  trowsers  meet  at 
the  waist  a  mantle  or  vest  of  silk,  which  crosses  the  should- 
ers and  breast  in  intersecting  oblique  folds,  like  what  is  call- 
ed a  surplice  dress.  Over  this  is  worn  a  loose  short  gown 
of  fine  transparent  silk  gauze,  generally  black  or  dove- 


A     LOOK     AT     JAPAN.  303 

colored.  The  sleeves  hang  very  large  and  loose.  On  each 
sleeve  and  on  the  shoulder  of  this  gown,  woven  in  white,  is 
a  delicate  figure,  a  circle  inclosing  some  device,  a  lozenge, 
three  petals,  or  cross  bars ;  the  coat-of-arms  of  the  indivi- 
dual ;  the  same  device  is  worked  upon  the  mantle  of  his  re- 
tainers. A  long  and  a  short  sword,  stuck  through  a  girdle 
on  the  left  side,  the  stifi",  clumsy-looking  spike  lying  along 
the  centre  of  the  head,  and  the  stockings  and  sandals  already 
described  complete  the  costume.  The  manner  and  counte- 
nances of  these  men — indeed,  of  aU  the  Japanese  gentry 
I  saw — were  those  of  intelligent,  jjolished  gentlemen. 
They  exhibited  that  kind  of  quiet,  subdued  courtesy 
which  is  the  effect  of  excessive  training,  and  the  habitual 
suppression  of  emotions — that  manner  which  is  so  charac- 
teristic of  the  polished  clergy  of  the  Romish  church.  The 
smiles  which  constantly  lighted  their  countenances  set 
forth  a  display  of  beautifully  white  and  regular  teeth.  It 
is  strange  that  those  who  can  prize  and  appreciate  such 
teeth,  should  tolerate  the  artificially  blackened  teeth  of 
the  married  women. 

As  an  illustration  of  their  courteous  deportment,  and 
of  their  mode  of  salutation,  I  saw  two  gentlemen  on  shore 
about  to  pass  each  other — acquaintances  I  suppose.  One 
rested  his  hands  upon  his  circumflexed  knees,  and,  with 
gracious  smiles,  lowly  bowed  his  body  forward ;  the  other 
immediately  did  the  same  thing,  each  bow  was  repeated, 
and  they  passed  on.  Such  is  not  only  the  salutation  of 
inferiors  to  superiors,  but  the  exchange  of  courtesy  be- 
tween equals. 

Before  leaving  China  for  Japan  we  had  entertained 
some  anticipations  of  getting  some  of  the  pretty  lacquer- 
work  bijou  for  which  the  Japanese  are  celebrated,  and 
have  been  from  the  earliest  period  of  the  acquaintance  of 
European  nations  with  them.  Our  hopes  were  not  very 
sanguine,  as  some  British  officers  with  whom  we  made 


304  IN     CUINA. 

acquaintance  had  been  very  unsuccessful.  One  of  their 
party  had  succeeded  in  procuring  an  old  comb,  or  piece 
of  a  comb,  the  only  thing  obtained.  Among  the  first 
inquiries  made  of  our  Japanese  visitors  was  as  to  the 
chances  of  buying  any  of  their  productions,  and  the  an- 
swer received  was,  "  Goyosho."  In  the  meantime,  some 
of  our  officers,  who  had  been  visiting  the  shore,  had  acci- 
dentally discovered  the  Goyosho,  and  came  ofl"  with  such 
brilliant  accounts  of  its  lacquer-ware  and  mother-of-pearl 
inlaid  articles,  it  seemed  as  though  they  had  discovered 
some  store-house  of  treasures  in  a  fairy  land.  Curiosity 
was  very  much  excited,  and,  with  others,  I  took  an  early 
opportunity  of  visiting  the  shore.  The  "  Goyosho"  was 
built  on  the  edge  of  a  canal,  walled  with  hewn  stone,  on 
one  side  of  the  town.  It  consisted  of  a  range  of  one- 
storied  wooden  buildings,  inclosing  a  hollow  square,  filled 
in  with  loose,  small-sized  pebble-stones.  The  front  of  the 
establishment  was  occupied  as  a  town-hall,  or  rooms  for 
the  transaction  of  public  business,  and  opened  upon  a 
yard  similarly  paved  with  loose  pebble-stones,  and  shut  in 
by  gates  from  the  street.  The  entrance  to  the  commercial 
part  of  the  establishment  was  on  one  side ;  and,  immedi- 
ately at  the  right  hand,  upon  entering,  was  a  small  room 
for  the  porter  or  gatekeeper,  messenger,  guard,  or  what- 
ever he  might  be.  On  the  left  hand  was  a  much  larger 
room,  with  broad  lounges  covered  with  matting,  for  the 
midday  repose  of  those  visiting  the  bazaar.  At  the  en- 
trance to  this  room  sate  a  vessel  of  drinking-water,  with 
a  new  smooth  white  pine  cover,  over  which  lay  a  wooden 
dipper,  and  alongside  of  it  several  small  porcelain  cups. 
The  remainder  of  three  sides  of  the  "  Goyosho"  were 
shops  entirely  open  in  front  to  the  court-yard,  and  filled 
with  the  finest  lacquer-work  of  Japan.  It  was  ranged 
along  the  ojjen  front  side  of  the  shops,  and  piled  away  at 
the  back  on  shelves  to  the  roof,  with  a  convenient  aisle  or 


A     LOOK     AT     JAPAN.  305 

avenue  between  the  front  aud  back  collection.  The  arti- 
cles consisted  of  black  and  gold,  black  and  inlaid  scarlet 
maroon,  gilded  and  inlaid  boxes  and  cabinets,  of  various 
shapes  and  sizes,  in  value  from  fifty  cents  uj)  to  two  huu- 
di'ed  doUars.  Lacquered  cujds,  bowls,  and  Avaiters,  of 
various  sizes,  shapes,  and  colors ;  maroon,  scarlet,  green 
and  gold,  predominating.  There  was  also  a  small  collec- 
tion of  silks  and  of  porcelain. 

The  front  or  fourth  side  of  the  building,  it  has  been  said, 
was  used  as  a  public  hall ;  but  at  the  back  where  it  opened 
upon  the  court-yard,  was  an  elevated  covered  floor  or  plat- 
form, which  was  the  office  of  the  Goyosho.  Here  the  clerks, 
secretaries,  treasurer  and  interpreters  sat  on  their  heels, 
their  legs  folded  under  them,  with  their  desks  and  writing 
apparatus.  jSText  to  this  office,  between  it  and  the  gate- 
keeper's room,  was  another  small  and  elevated  room, 
reached  by  several  hewn  stone  steps.  The  floor  was  cov- 
ered smoothly  with  white  matting  ;  around  the  sides  were 
new  white-j)ine  benches,  their  legs  not  resting  rudely  upon 
the  matting,  but  let  into  wooden  bottoms.  These  benches 
we.  3  covered  with  matting  framed  tightly  over  them.  On 
each  b'nch  was  a  shining  black  lacquered  tray,  on  which 
was  a  porcelain  jar  containing  coals  of  fire,  a  smaller  jar 
to  receive  the  ashes  of  cigars  or  pipes,  and  between  them 
a  small  lacquer  stand  with  a  porcelain  tea-cup.  This  was 
a  room  for  rest  and  refreshment.  Indeed,  every  ordinary 
want  and  necessity  was  neatly  and  commodiously  provided 
for  by  these  Japanese ;  and  I  have  been  thus  minute  in 
describing  this  building  as  it  docs  much  towards  indicating- 
certain  characteristics.  The  whole  was  new  and  fresh, 
the  timber  was  soft  and  satiny  white  pine,  covered  with 
black  paint  where  exposed  to  the  weather,  and  roofed  with 
dark  blue  and  white  tiles  with  ornamental  edges.  All  was 
neat,  quiet,  clean,  fresh  and  toy  like. 

This  place  was  our  principal  resort  during  our  stay  in 


306  IN     CHINA. 

Simoda,  not  only  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing,  but  on  ac- 
count of  the  beauty  of  the  display  and  the  comforts  and 
conveniences  of  the  establishment.  Up  to  the  last  day  of 
our  stay  in  Simoda,  a  lively  excitement  of  purchasing  Ja- 
panese lacquer- ware  was  kept  up ;  almost  every  boat-load  of 
officers  on  leave  made  their  way  to  the  Goyosho,  and  every 
returning  boat  was  piled  with  boxes,  the  result  of  their 
bargains,  while  in  the  evening  our  apartment  was  bril- 
liant in  the  exhibition  and  comparison  of  the  results  of 
the  day's  work.  The  Goyosho  had  an  additional  charm 
from  the  fact  of  its  being  the  only  place  in  which  could  be 
seen  at  once  the  natural  Japanese  character,  its  modifications 
by  their  institutions,  and  the  searching  despotism  of  the 
government.  The  inconsistency  of  aristocratic  distinctions 
being  made  to  depend  arbitrarily  upon  the  business  pur- 
suits of  individuals,  was  fully  shown  in  this  place.  In  the 
distinction  of  classes,  merchants  or  traders  are  among  the 
lowest;  they  may  attain  the  honor  of  wearing  one  sword, 
but  can  not  pretend  to  that  of  petticoat  trowsers,  and  yet 
the  high  functionaries  of  the  empire,  the  empire  itself  is  a 
petty  trader.  In  our  dealings  at  the  Goyosho,  if  any  thing 
occurred  out  of  the  written  line,  involving  it  maybe  only 
a  few  cents,  the  matter  was  referred  from  the  officers  to 
the  mysterious  building  in  front,  in  which  were  the  princely 
governors. 

The  mode  of  transacting  business  was  as  follows :  ev- 
ery article  in  the  shops  was  labeled  with  two  labels,  upon 
which  the  price  was  written  in  Japanese  and  in  our  own 
figures.  No  payments  were  made  to  the  person  from 
whom  the  article  was  purchased.  The  purchaser  wrote 
his  name  upon  the  parcel,  the  shop-tender  then  tore  off* 
the  labels,  and  pasted  one  firmly  upon  the  parcel,  the  other 
was  taken  possession  of  by  a  secretary,  who  made  a  record 
of  the  transaction  in  a  book.  The  purchaser  and  the  free 
label  were  then  sent  to  the  office,  where  the  purchaser, 


A     LOOK     AT     JAPAN.  30Y 

when  he  had  completed  his  business  m  tlie  shops,  or  at 
any  time,  was  informed  of  the  aggregate  of  his  account, 
and  upon  making  jmyment,  received  his  articles,  which,  if 
of  sufficient  bulk,  were  sent  by  attendant  porters  to  the 
landing. 

It  sometimes  happened  that  in  the  small  shops  of  the 
town,  we  saw  articles  which  we  wished  to  buy.  It  could 
only  be  done  by  having  them  sent  to  the  "Goyosho,"  where 
they  were  priced,  labeled  and  paid  for.  Notwithstanding 
this  rigid  system  the  people  and  the  officers  seemed  to  be 
free,  genial  and  social.  They  were  all  fond  of  laughing 
and  joking  with  us,  and  readily  made  themselves  ac- 
quainted with  our  names.  As  I  was  a  daily  visitor  to  the 
place,  when  I  entered  of  a  morning  and  as  I  passed  through 
the  shops,  everyone  seemed  to  pride  himself  upon  calling 
me  "  Doctor,"  or  "  Doctor  Bood."  Several  of  them  asked 
me  to  prescribe  for  them,  and  having  done  so  in  one  case 
T  gave  the  man  a  written  prescription  to  take  on  board  ship 
and  get  the  medicine.  In  about  an  hour  he  brought  it 
back  and  handed  it  to  me.  I  signed  that  he  was  to  keep 
it  and  take  it  on  board  ship.  He  still  insisted  upon  return- 
ing it,  and  as  a  reason  for  doing  so,  bowed  his  head  and 
made  the  sign  of  an  axe  passing  through  his  neck.  The 
argument  was  powerful  and  conclusive.  I  took  back  my 
prescription.  Among  themselves  they  appeared  to  be 
merry  and  cheerful ;  none  of  that  gloomy  depression  which 
is  the  general  result  of  such  a  despotism.  Both  from  the 
functionaries  of  the  office  and  from  the  shops  in  which 
there  were  several  i^ersons  together,  there  Avould  come 
shouts  of  laughter  during  the  intervals  of  business.  In 
fact,  the  Japanese  present  an  anomaly  in  the  contrast  be- 
tween the  natural  character  of  the  people  and  the  nature 
of  their  government ;  a  contrast  so  great  that  the  despot- 
ism of  centuries  has  not  been  able  to  deaden  their  lively 
geniality.     It  is  not  difficult  to  sec  that  almost  every  Ja- 


808  IN     CHINA. 

panese  has  two  characters,  that  which  is  oflScial  and  that 
which  is  personal.  The  official  is  a  routine  performance 
duly  acted.  This  dual  character  would  account  for  the 
contradictory  accounts  of  them  given  by  different  writers, 
indeed  by  the  same  writer,  as  is  the  case  with  old  Kamp- 
fer  himself.  Take  the  man  in  his  official  relations,  he  is 
distrustful,  jealous,  suspicious,  cautious,  unyielding,  taci- 
turn, cruel ;  Avhile  personally  he  is  social,  kind,  trusting, 
communicative.  I  noticed  this  double  existence  in  our 
diplomatic  negotiations.  Minute,  earnest,  exacting  in  cai'- 
rying  out  the  wishes  or  instructions  of  the  government, 
a  British  or  an  American  statesman  would  patriotically 
identify  himself  with  his  cause,  but  the  Japanese,  his  busi- 
ness being  over,  has  no  personal  interest  in  the  matter. 
This  enables  them  to  be  cool  and  equable  during  the  most 
interesting  and  important  discussions.  It  leads  also  to  an 
inference  that  any  ^ipreme  government  set  up  in  place  of 
that  of  the  Siogoun,  would  receive  the  sanction  of  the 
Jaj^anese  masses.  This  is,  howevei',  taking  a  very  broad 
look  through  a  very  narrow  opening. 

The  JajDanese  are  an  honest  people  —  and  this  same 
Goyosho  showed  at  once  their  jjersonal  honesty  and  per- 
sonal confidence,  with  their  official  distrust.  After  a  %dsit 
from  any  number  of  Jajjanese,  no  one  would  think  of  mis- 
sing the  smallest  article  ;  indeed,  none  could  be  induced  to 
accept  the  most  trifling  present ;  and,  upon  one  occasion, 
I  discovered  after  leaving  the  Goyosho,  that  I  had  received 
thirty-seven  cents  too  much  change  ;  an  unusual  thing,  as 
they  were  generally  exact.  Upon  returning  the  following 
day,  I  took  it  to  the  office,  but  as  the  interpreter  was  not 
there,  I  could  not  make  them  understand  why  I  returned 
it,  and  they  refused  to  receive  it.  I  pushed  it  towards 
them,  and  they  pushed  it  back  to  me,  until  I  walked  off, 
leaving  it  ujDon  the  floor  ;  when,  in  an  hour  or  so,  the  in- 
terpreter came  in,  and  hunted  me  up  in  one  of  the  shops  to 


A     LOOK     AT     JAPAN.  309 

know  why  I  returned  the  money.  They  seemed  to  have 
no  distrust  as  to  leaving  us  alone  in  the  shops,  with  the 
innumerable  articles  lying  around,  a  degree  ot"  confidence 
which  strangers  do  not  expect  nor  receive  in  their  own 
country  —  in  "World  Exhibitions,  for  instance,  where  a 
policeman's  eye  is  on  every  individual  person  and  thing. 

While  these  private  transactions  and  famiUarities  were 
going  on  between  the  officers  and  the  Japanese,  the 
functionaries  were  arranging  for  an  interview  with  the 
Consul  General.  The  Commodore  was  out  of  health,  and 
could  not  be  present,  and  yet  the  authorities  seemed  ear- 
nestly desirous  that  he  should  be.  A  day  was  appointed, 
but  the  Governor  was  taken  suddenly  with  a  sore  foot,  and 
the  day  was  jjostponed  until  Monday,  August  25th.  I 
omitted  to  mention,  that  immediately  upon  our  arrival 
the  Consul  General  dispatched  his  communications  to  the 
government  at  Yedo,  but  was  told  it  would  take  ten  days 
to  receive  a  reply,  as  the  post  went  afoot.  As  the  dis- 
tance was  only  about  eighty  miles,  we  knew  this  to  be  a 
delay  designed  for  a  purpose,  and  were  well  assured  that 
no  action  would  be  taken,  of  any  kind,  by  the  authorities 
of  Simoda  without  instructions  from  Yedo.  However, 
the  day  above  mentioned  was  an  important  one  in  the 
annals  of  Japan,  inasmuch  as  a  courteous  and  amicable 
reception  was  given  to  a  resident  representative  of  a  for- 
eign power,  and  that  power  one  of  the  youngest  among 
nations.  Mr.  Harris  was  accompanied  by  Captam  Bell 
and  a  party  of  officers  of  the  San  Jacinto,  who  were  re- 
ceived in  the  front  building  of  the  Goyosho,  and  enter- 
tained by  a  repast  of  confectionery,  soups,  tea  and  sacke. 

A  week  after  this  a  reception  was  appointed  for  Conl- 
modore  Armstrong,  Avhose  health  had  improved.  The 
Consul  General  and  a  suite  of  officers,  in  all  the  glittering 
decorations  of  a  full  dress  uniform,  accompanied  him. 

TVe  entered  the  council  house  by  a  hall,  covered  with 


310  IN     CHINA. 

line  white  matting,  almost  too  neat  and  white  for  the 
tread   of  our   boots.      Indeed,  in   the   Japanese   private 
houses,  they  put  off  their  shoes  in  a  small  area  before  tread- 
ing upon  the  clean,  neatly  matted  floor.     One  side  of  the 
upper  end  of  this  hall  was  screened  off  by  a  folded  screen 
of  gilded  paper,  and  to  the  left  of  this  we  entered  a  light 
and  airy  room,  almost  toy-like  in  its  delicate  structure, 
and  the  superlative  of  Japanese  nicety.     The  peculiar, 
soft,   white  wood  used  for  the  posts,  ceiling  joists,  and 
window-frames,    smoothly    worked,   was   fresh   and   iin- 
painted.     Whenever  bolt-heads  came  through,  they  Avere 
covered  with  neatly  chased  hexagonal  brass  nuts.     The 
floor  joists  over  head  w^ere  exceedingly  delicate  —  not 
thicker  than  the  wrist.     Light  window-frames,  covered 
"vvith  a  silky,  Avhite,  semi-transparent  paper,  formed  the  win- 
dows, but  these  were  now  freely  opened  to  admit  the  air. 
The  dead  wall  of  the  room  was  covered  by  a  deUcate 
light-colored,  figured  paper.      Down  the  centre  of  the 
room  were  two  lines  of  benches,  with  a  red  serge  framed 
tightly  over  them.     In  front  of  one  row  of  these  benches 
were  low  tables,  and  upon  each  table  a  black  lacquered 
tray,  upon  which  lay  two  new,  long-stemmed,  brass  pipes, 
a  porcelain  cup  with  fire,  another  for  ashes,  and  a  small 
lacquered  box  of  tobacco. 

A  new  Governor,  we  were  informed,  had  just  arrived 
fi'om  Yedo  ;  in  fact,  an  officer  of  high  rank,  especially 
commissioned  for  the  circumstances  of  our  case. 

We  were  met  at  the  entrance  of  this  room  by  the  Gov- 
ernors and  their  suite,  and  invited  to  the  seats  in  front  of 
the  low  table.  The  Japanese  officers  placed  themselves, 
Tvith  their  limbs  bent  under  them,  on  the  benches  oppo- 
site ;  back  of  these  was  a  row  of  inferior  persons,  note- 
takers,  etc.,  and  on  the  floor,  at  a  distant  end  of  the  room, 
was  a  throng  of  domestics,  all  similarly  resting  upon  their 
bended  legs.     These  domestics  appeared,  from  their  cos- 


A     LOOK     AT     JAPAN.  311 

tume  and  swords,  to  be  young  men  of  rank.  At  the 
upper  end  of  the  space  between  the  Japanese  officials  and 
ourselves,  was  the  raised  seat  of  the  interpreter,  who,  in 
this  instance,  aj^peared  to  be  a  gentleman  of  rank  —  the 
intelhgent,  polished,  and  courteous  Moriamna.  Thus 
placed,  the  council  was  ready.  The  servants  immedi- 
ately set  before  us  porcelain  cups  of  tea  on  small  lacquer 
stands,  and  the  talk  began. 

The  Governors  opened  in  Japanese.  Moriamna  bowed 
his  head  toward  them,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  the  speech, 
gave  his  head  a  lower  inclination,  and,  turning  to  Mv. 
Heuskin,  who  sat  next  the  Consul  General,  delivered  the 
message  in  Dutch ;  this  gentleman  again  delivered  it  in 
English.  It  was  an  inquiry  after  the  health  and  well  be- 
ing of  General  Pierce.  This  bemg  approjiriately  answered, 
another  message  came  through  the  same  channels  —  an 
inquiry  after  the  health  of  the  Consul  General.  Then  the 
same  ceremony  in  regard  to  the  Commodore,  and,  finally, 
in  regard  to  aU  of  us.  This  important  courtesy  having 
been  duly  reciprocated,  and  the  new  Governor  having  in- 
formed us  that  he  was  very  much  broken  and  worn  with 
his  journey  from  Yedo,  and  I  having  offered  my  pro- 
fessional ser\dces  to  restore  him  to  a  state  of  health  and 
vigor,  some  beautiful  confectionery  was  jilaced  before  each 
of  us,  e\ery  parcel  precisely  alike.  There  were  two  oval 
cakes  of  sugar  and  rice-flour,  one  white  and  one  pink, 
beautifully  molded  with  flowers,  resting  against  candies 
formed  like  the  plume  of  a  Highland  bonnet,  and  these 
again  supported  by  a  scroll  of  candy.  There  was  also  a 
square  mass  of  gi'eenish  jelly,  sanded  over  with  sugar- 
plums. With  the  parcel  was  a  piece  of  thin,  fine,  silky 
|)aper,  as  strong  as  cloth  itself,  and  a  bundle  of  long 
filaments,  some  white  and  some  red,  bound  together  in 
the  middle  by  a  band  of  thin  silvery  metal.  I,  at  first, 
thought  these  long  threads  were  a  Icind  of  flexible  candy. 


312  IN     CHINA. 

It  is  a  Japanese  custom  for  each  guest  to  have  sent  with 
Mm  a  part  of  the  feast  of  which  he  lias  partaken,  and  tlie 
ornamental  part  was  intended  to  be  borne  away,  the 
strong  paper  to  wrap  it  in,  and  the  white  and  red  filaments 
were  paper  twine  to  bind  the  parcel. 

All  this  ceremonial  conversation,  though  it  had  amount- 
ed to  nothing,  going  through  so  many  languages,  had  used 
up  the  morning.  After  this  confectionary  wc  were  served 
with  a  lacquer  tray  placed  before  each  gentleman,  and 
containing  several  fine  lacquer-covered  cups  of  soup  of 
various  kinds — fish-soup,  egg-soup,  vermicelli,  craw-fish. 
There  were  also  small  lacquer  plates  of  delicious  fried  eels, 
and  others  of  pickles.  The  plate  of  each  guest  had  jDre- 
cisely  the  same  articles,  of  the  same  size  and  shape,  and 
the  same  arrangement.  The  implements  for  conveying 
this  food  to  our  mouths  were  two  smooth  new  white 
chopsticks,  and  one  thin  small  black  lacquer  fork.  The 
Japanese  were  amused  at  our  awkwardness,  and  very  kind- 
ly offered  to  show  us  the  mode  of  using  these  novel  tools. 
During  the  feast,  it  was  announced  through  the  inter- 
preters, that  the  new  governor  was  an  ofiicer  who  had 
come  from  Yedo,  with  full  powers  to  enter  into  any  nego- 
tiations with  the  Consul  General  which  might  be  neces- 
sary. They  seemed  disposed  to  enter  upon  business 
immediately,  and  said,  "  They  knew  very  well  that  the 
treaty  provided  for  the  residence  of  a  consul  at  Si- 
moda,  whenever  either  nation  might  think  it  necessary. 
What,"  they  asked,  "renders  it  necessary  now?"  Mr. 
Harris  replied  that  he  was  not  in  the  secrets  of  his  gov- 
ernment, and  could  not  say  why  it  had  availed  itself  of 
the  treaty  to  send  a  consul  general  to  Japan.  This  reply 
having  gone  back,  they  then  said,  "  We  know  you  can- 
not be  in  the  secrets  of  your  government ;  but  we  think 
you  must  know  the  particular  reason  why  you  have  been 
sent  here." 


A     LOOK     AT     JAPAN.  313 

Mr.  Harris  said  he  could  only  reply  that  he  came  under 
the  treaty  for  such  duties  as  are  exercised  by  consuls  in 
other  countries — to  provide  for  shipwrecked  and  dis- 
tressed seamen,  to  decide  diflerences  between  the  com- 
mander and  men  of  ships,  and  to  prevent  our  lawless 
sailors  from  violating  Japanese  laws.  This  did  not  seem 
to  satisfy  them,  and  they  answered  that  by  the  treaty 
they  had  agreed  to  treat  kindly  shipwrecked  seamen, 
and  unless  there  was  a  doubt  of  their  sincerity,  a  resident 
consul  was  unnecessary. 

They  then  turned  to  the  Commodore,  and  asked  if  he 
had  any  power  to  treat  respecting  the  residence  of  the 
Consul  General.  He  replied,  "  None  at  all ;"  he  com- 
manded the  military,  and  had  received  orders  to  bring  Mr. 
Harris  to  Simoda,  and,  he  added  emphatically,  "leave 
him  there."  They  then  inquired  of  the  Commodore  if 
he  knew  any  reasons  why  Mr.  Harris  had  been  sent  there? 
He  answered,  none  other  than  the  provision  of  the  treaty. 
He  was  next  asked  if  he  did  not  think  it  would  be  better 
to  receive  a  statement  of  their  reasons  for  not  receiving 
Mr.  Harris,  and  take  him  away  until  some  future  time 
i^hen  more  urgent  reasons  might  exist.  The  Commodore 
replied  that  he  had  no  discretion  but  to  obey  his  orders. 
They  asked  if  he  would  take  a  communication  from  them 
to  the  United  States  government.  He  would,  he  said, 
take  any  thing,  but  it  must  co'me  through  Mr.  Harris. 
Some  little  difference  had  arisen  during  the  conference 
as  to  the  reading  of  a  clause  of  the  treaty.  The  Japanese 
had  their  copy  before  them.  Mr.  Harris  remarked  to 
them  that  this  Avas  a  visit  of  ceremony,  a  call  of  the  Com- 
inodoro  upon  the  Governors,  and  not  one  of  business ;  that 
ho  had  not  come  prepared  for  any  negotiation,  but  would 
meet  them  at  any  time  they  might  api)oint  for  that 
purpose. 

The  Japanese  functionaries,  however,  seemed  to  be 
U 


314  IN     CHINA. 

like  men  who  had  an  ap2)ohitcd  task,  and  were  anxious 
to  rid  themselves  of  it.  They  would  frequently,  before 
putting  a  question  or  proposition,  read  from  a  paper, 
which  one  of  them  kept  before  him  ;  and  during  what  ap- 
peai'ed  to  us  must  be  to  them  the  most  earnest  and  in- 
teresting part  of  the  discussion,  they  would  converse  m  a 
pleasant,  smiling  manner  with  each  other,  and  the  most 
earnest  arguments  passed  through  Moriamna,  without 
in  the  least  disturbing  the  placidity  of  his  countenance, 
or  ruffling  the  courtesy  of  his  demeanor.  It  was  prob- 
able that  these  officials  had  instructions  from  the  im- 
perial government  to  get  rid  of  the  American  Consul 
General  if  they  could  without  an  infraction  of  treaty  ob- 
ligations, and  if  they  could  not,  to  make  the  best  of  the 
circumstances. 

After  this  skirmishing  had  been  protracted  for  some 
hours,  and  they  foimd  no  diversion  in  their  favor  could 
be  expected  from  the  Commodore,  they  apologized  for 
having  detained  him  so  long,  and  suggested  that  he  and 
the  officers  might  at  their  pleasure  take  their  leave,  but 
would  be  glad  if  Mr.  Harris  and  his  secretary  would 
remain  and  continue  the  negotiation.  This  was  assented 
to.  Mr.  Harris  requested  me  to  remain  over  with  him. 
The  remainder  of  our  party  took  their  leave,  accompanied 
by  attendants,  carrying  their  bundles  of  confectionery. 
After  we  had  resumed  our  seats  and  refilled  our  pipes, 
the  conversation  was  resumed  by  their  stating  general 
objections  to  receiving  a  Consul  General.  They  said  that 
Simoda  had  suffered  very  much  by  earthquakes  ;  and  if 
an  American  Consul  came,  a  Russian  and  a  French  one 
might  come,  and  this  would  involve  a  great  deal  of 
trouble  and  expense. 

They  were  told  that  Simoda  was  the  place  of  their  own 
appointing,  that  any  agi'eement  they  had  with  the  Rus- 
sian and  French  was  of  their  own  volition,  and  should  not 


A     LOOK      AT     JAPAN.  315 

interfere  with  our  admitted  claims,  and  that  no  expense 
would  be  imposed  upon  them  by  our  consulate,  which 
bore  its  own  expenses.  It  was  then  objected  that  there 
w^ere  additional  articles  aj^pended  to  the  treaty  Avhich 
had  not  been  ratified,  that  when  these  articles  were  rati- 
fied, an  ambassador  would  come  out  with  them,  and  after 
that,  it  would  be  time  enough  to  receive  a  consul.  It  was 
replied  that  those  articles  were  merely  explanatory  of  the 
treaty  and  needed  no  ratification ;  but  that  if  they  were, 
no  ambassador  would  come  with  them,  as  they  would  be 
sent  to  the  Consul  General ;  and  this  was  another  of  his 
functions,  the  transmission  of  communications  of  his  own 
government  to  that  of  Japan.  They  now  said  they  would 
receive  Mr.  Harris  temporarily,  and  as  there  were  no 
quarters  suitable  for  him,  they  would  accommodate  him 
in  the  temple  at  the  opposite  village  ;  but  they  would  in 
the  meantime  forward  their  objections  to  our  government, 
and  asked  if  he  would  forward  such  a  communication. 
Mr,  Harris  said,  certainly,  he  was  bound  to  forward  such 
communications,  even  if  they  were  complaints  against 
himself.  The  inquiiy  was  now  made  as  to  whether  a 
verbal  request  of  the  Governors,  addressed  to  the  United 
States  Secretary  of  State,  would  not  be  sufticient,  and  Mr. 
Harris  told  them  no.  They  had  a  written  communication 
ii'omMr.  Marcy,  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  it  was  usual 
with  western  nations  to  acknowledge  such  communications 
in  writing.  This  had  not  been  done.  They  replied,  it  was 
not  a  Japanese  custom,  and  as  a  high  officer  had  been 
sent  to  receive  the  Consul  General  and  to  make  a  verbal 
communication  to  the  United  States  through  him,  they 
thought  this  sufficient.  (I  understood  them  to  intimate 
the  most  respectful  mode.)  They  suggested  that  a  writ- 
ten communication  from  the  two  Governors  would  be 
all  that  was  necessary ;  but  were  told  that  the  Secretary 
of  State  only  corresponded  with  supreme  governments, 


310  in(.;hina. 

and  no  request  preferred  by  any  subordinates  would  re- 
ceive any  attention.  They  said  Mr.  Marcy's  letter  said 
Mr.  Harris  was  to  enter  into  new  negotiations,  and  they 
wanted  to  know  what  these  negotiations  were.  Here 
was  the  secret  of  their  perseverance  in  asking  what  were 
the  reasons  of  Mr.  Harris's  coming,  and  showed  their 
dread  of  new  business  and  demands  being  thrust  upon 
them,  and  they  were  evidently  little  suprised  at  being  in- 
formed that  this  was  merely  a  general  allusion  to  such 
business  as  might  arise  in  the  future,  and  had  in  view  no 
definite  point  at  the  present  time.  In  stating  this,  Mr. 
Harris  instanced  that  he  might  open  negotiations  for  a 
change  of  consular  residence  to  some  other  places.  This 
gave  a  little  uneasiness,  and  they  asked,  at  once,  if  any 
such  changes  would  be  made  by  him  without  the  sanction 
t)f  the  Japanese  government.  He  told  them,  certainly  not, 
it  must  be  a  matter  of  mutual  negotiation  and  consent. 

During  all  this  long,  triply-translated  discussion,  there 
were  as  many  changes  of  cloud  and  sunshine  a^  mark  an 
April  day ;  but  as  the  business  di*ew  toward  a  close,  and 
difficulties  gradually  disapi:»eared,  the  sunshine  of  cheer- 
fulness and  good  humor  rested  abidingly  upon  us  all. 
The  Japanese  felt  the  satisfaction  of  men  who  had  done 
their  duty,  and  the  Consul  General  had  done  his,  and  ac- 
complished his  ends.  I,  having  nothing  to  do  but  look  on, 
had  smoked  comfortable  pipes  of  mild  tobacco,  and  drank 
small  cups  of  sweet  saki,  and  kept  as  calm  and  jDlacid  as 
Moriamna  himself 

The  Ja^Danese  finally  remarked  that  Mr.  Marcy's  letter 
said  the  consul  was  treated  with  the  same  consideration 
and  granted  the  same  privileges  as  were  usual  among  civ- 
ilized nations.  They  said  they  were  entirely  ignorant  as 
to  what  these  were,  and  would  be  glad  to  be  informed. 
This  was  done.  They  made  frequent  apologies,  during 
the  negotiation,  for  its  length,  the  necessary  tedionsuess 


A      LOOK     AT     JAl'AX  317 

of  translating,  and  hoped  that  no  offense  would  be  taken 
at  any  of  the  questions,  as  they  were  ignorant  upon  the 
subjects  under  discussion,  and  asked  many  things  only  for 
information.  We  offered  them  the  most  positive  assur- 
ances that  we  were  delighted  with  their  urbanity  and  glad 
to  answer  all  their  inquiries.  They  hoped  that  Mr.  Har- 
ris would  not  object  to  their  visiting  him  when  he  got 
settled,  and  talking  over  matters  in  his  own  residence. 
Upon  the  contrary,  Mr.  Harris  would  only  be  too  hajDpy 
to  see  them  at  any  time,  socially  and  on  business,  and 
they  in  turn  assured  Mr.  Harris  that  every  thing  should 
be  done  to  aid  hun  in  making  himself  comfortable  ;  and 
amid  smiles  and  bows  we  parted  company  for  the  day. 

The  Commodore,  previous  to  his  departure,  had  invited 
the  Governors  and  their  suites  to  %asit  our  ship  on  the 
coming  day.  They  came  off,  to  the  number,  attendants, 
sword-bearers  and  all,  of  about  thirty.  They  partook 
freely  and  with  great  zest  of  the  entertainment  set  before 
them ;  ate  ham,  tongue,  cold  chicken,  lobster-salad,  hard 
bread,  soft  bread  and  cake ;  drank  ale,  white  wine,  cham- 
pagne, brandy ;  laughed,  talked  merrily,  jested  and  played 
practical  jokes.  Mustard  and  sweet  oil  seemed  curiosi- 
ties to  them,  but  they  used  them  freely.  I  mention  these 
things  to  show  that  their  natural  appetites  do  not  confine 
them  to  rice  alone,  and  that  they  are  glad  to  throw  off 
official  stiffness  and  reserve.  The  feast  being  ended,  they 
drew  from  the  folds  of  their  fine  silks,  squares  of  paper, 
in  which,  after  asking  permission,  they  wrapped  up  frag- 
mentary specimens  of  their  entertainment.  They  partook 
of  our  viands  with  a  complimentary  vigor  which  chop- 
sticks alone  would  not  supply;  and  though  they  left  us, 
gentlemanly  and  proper  in  deportment,  their  gleaming 
eyes  and  rubicund  noses  were  inconsistent  with  tlie  sup- 
position of  totally  abstinent  principles. 


318  IN     CHINA. 

For  their  cutcrtaimnent  the  crew  h<ad  been  exercised 
at  quarters. 

During  tliose  exchanges  of  hospitality  business  had  not 
been  neglected.  The  Japanese  had  been  industriously 
l^reparing  the  allotted  temple  for  the  reception  of  the  Con- 
sul General,  and  our  carpenters  had  been  actively  pre- 
paring a  suitable  flag-staff  for  the  first  American  flag  which 
was  to  fly  as  a  permanent  emblem  on  the  shores  of  Japan. 

Soon  after  the  departure  of  our  Japanese  guests,  the 
Consul  General  and  his  secretary  took  their  final  leave  of 
our  ship  ;  and  early  on  Wednesday  morning,  Sej^tember 
3d,  the  Captain,  Boatswain  and  Carpenter  went  ashore  to 
raise  this  memorable  and  now  completed  staff.  The  tem- 
ple before  which  it  was  to  be  planted  stood  in  a  nook  of 
the  mountain  a  little  back  of  the  village.  Its  roof  could 
be  seen  rising  against  the  dark-green  background,  some- 
what above  the  houses  of  the  village.  An  accident  hap- 
pened in  the  first  attempt  to  raise  the  pole.  It  fell,  break- 
ing the  cross-trees,  so  that  new  ones  had  to  be  made. 
Those  who  read  omens,  and  read  them  gloomily,  might 
interpret  this  into  one  of  bad  significance  ;  but  early  in 
the  afternoon  the  flag-staff,  perfect  in  all  its  parts,  rose 
triumphantly  to  its  place,  and  we  saw  fi^-om  our  ship  the 
stars  and  stripes  fluttering  in  the  breeze  before  the  Japan- 
ese temple — the  Consul  General  having  the  satisfaction  of 
running  it  up  with  his  own  hand.  May  it  there  be  the  em- 
blem of  the  final  triumph  of  our  country  and  its  policy  over 
all  preceding  obstacles,  disappointments  and  difficulties. 

This  event  accomplished,  our  working  party  returned 
to  the  ship,  and  we  immediately  got  under  way,  exchang- 
ing a  parting  salute  with  the  Consul  General  by  a  mutual 
dipping  (slightly  lowering  and  hoisting)  of  the  ensigns. 
As  we  stood  out  to  sea  and  left  our  flag  waving  among 
the  trees  on  the  shores  of  this  sealed  empire,  it  was  a  sight 
suggesting  many  speculations  into   the  far  future,  and 


A     LOOK     AT     JAPAN.  319 

reaching  even  beyond  a  period  when,  as  has  been  sug- 
gested, these  isles  of  Japan  may  be  to  the  nations  of  the 
Pacific  what  those  of  Great  Britain  are  to  Europe. 

It  is  ahnost  amusing  to  see  the  minute  precision  with 
which  the  Japanese  cany  out  their  treaty  stipulations. 

They  agree  to  furnish  us  provisions,  and  hence  the  gov- 
ernment itself  undertakes  the  suj)ply,  and  sent  us  fowls, 
which,  by  the  way,  were  yellow  and  hard,  as  if  lacquer 
was  diffused  through  their  substance. 

They  agree  to  furnish  us  coal,  and  there  was  the  coal 
when  we  arrived  all  nicely  done  up  in  sacks  on  the  wharf; 
and  first-rate  coal  it  was,  the  best  we  had  used  during  the 
cruise.  We  were  to  be  permitted  to  trade,  and  here  was 
the  government  Goyosho,  with  its  splendid  collection  of 
lacquered  wares,  kept  ready  for  the  arrival  of  our  ships. 
They  agreed  to  receive  a  consul,  and  although,  when  he 
came,  they  did  not  regard  him  as  a  very  acceptable  addi- 
tion to  the  empire,  yet  we  left  him  and  his  flag  success- 
fully planted  on  the  beach  at  Siraoda. 

By  some  mistake  or  oversight  in  the  Perry  treaty,  our 
money,  in  relation  with  that  of  Japan,  was  depreciated 
two  thirds.  As  one  of  the  good  results  of  Mr.  Harris's 
residence,  this  inistake  has  been  corrected,  and  Count 
Pontiatine,  the  Russian  envoy  who  visited  there  since  this 
arrangement,  told  me  that  he  had  made  contracts  with 
them  before  the  change  of  valuation  in  foreign  silver,  but 
this  was  effected  before  he  made  his  payments.  He  of- 
fered to  pay  them  at  the  valuation  which  existed  when 
his  contracts  were  made,  but  they  insisted  on  receiving 
only  the  one  third. 

I  am  sony  to  testify  that  their  modesty  is  not  equal  to 
their  honesty,  as  Simoda  is  provided  with  public  bathing- 
houses  in  which  both  sexes  meet  freely,  and  in  the  public 
eye,  without  any  incumberings  of  costume. 

In  most  beautiful  weather  we  steamed  away  from  Si- 


320  I  N      ('  H  I  N  A  . 

moJa  ami  «lo\vn  the  gi-ecn  mountain  shores  of  Japan,  an 
object  of  great  curiosity  to  the  Japanese  cruising  off  tlie 
laud  in  theh- junks,  and  as  the  San  Jacinto's  dark  body 
foamed  through  the  waters  without  a  sail  set,  and  rolling 
forth  volumes  of  black  smoke,  she  presented  a  sight  for 
many  an  evenmg's  future  gossip  in  the  mountain  villages. 


XXVI. 

SHANGHAK 


"Whks"  we  left  the  south  of  China,  floods,  we  saw,  were 
drowning  out  the  people,  ovei-flowing  their  fields,  and 
destroying  their  rice.  In  the  north,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Shanghae,  parching  drought  produced  the  same  desolation, 
and  as  we  passed  through  the  Tellow  Sea  we  had  the  evi- 
dence of  this  drought  in  the  clouds  of  locusts  which  dark- 
ened the  air — destruction  born  of  destruction.  We  were 
surrounded  by  them.  Although  the  breeze  was  not  fresh, 
these  insects  seemed  to  have  no  control  of  themselves. 
Some  were  moving  sideways  in  their  struggle  with  the 
wind,  and  some  with  fluttering  wings  ridiculously  moving 
backwards.  They  fell  in  great  numbers  upon  our  decks, 
and  invaded  our  apartments  below. 

The  drought  had  lasted  aU  the  summer,  notwithstand- 
ing all  the  expedients  resorted  to  by  the  peoj^le  and  the 
authorities  to  bring  it  to  an  end.  Even  the  following 
were  not  of  any  avail : 

"  The  miUtary  intendant  (the  tau-tai)  and  the  chief 
magistrate  of  this  district  (the  chi-hien)  go  daily  in  per- 
son, once  in  the  morning  and  once  in  the  afternoon,  first 
to  the  temple  of  the  Guardian  Deity  of  the  city  within 
the  walls,  and  then  to  the  pavilion  of  the  Thi-ee  Magnates, 
situated  outside  the  south  gate  of  the  city,  to  pray  to  the 


S  H  A  N  G  H  A  E  .  321 

gods,  to  communicate  to  Heaven's  court  (these  tlieir  pe- 
titions, so  that  the  Heavenly  Powers)  shall  speedily  send 
down  genial  showers,  and  moisten  the  earth  below.  They 
have  also  issued  orders,  strictly  forbidding  the  people  to 
slaughter  any  living  creatures,  until  after  plentiful  show- 
ers shall  have  fallen. 

"  Among  the  people  resident  in  the  city,  each  family 
now  keeps  erected  at  the  front  door  of  the  house  a  tablet, 
on  Avhich  is  inscribed — 

"to  the  dragon  king  op  the  five  lakes  and  the  foub  seas. 

"  Before  this  tablet,  on  an  altar  of  incense,  they  lay  out 
their  sacrificial  offerings  to  propitiate  the  gods.  Close 
by  their  doors  they  also  set  up  small  yellow  flags,  on  which 
they  have  had  written  sentences  like  the  following  : 

"  '  "With  sincerity  of  the  heart  we  pray  that  ahundance  of  rain  may 
descend.' " 

A    PROCLAMATION. 

"  This  year  a  literary  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Hu^ 
belonging  to  the  department  of  Tsing-chau  in  Shantung, 
on  the  third  day  after  he  had  died  rose  to  life  again, 
and  said  he  had  seen  the  holy  sovereign  Prince,  K%oan^ 
who  delivered  the  following  Mandatory  Instructions,  viz., 

"The  judgments  of  Heaven  are  now  going  abroad,  and 
this  year,  either  by  the  sword  and  soldiers,  or  by  disease 
and  sickness,  eight  or  nine  tenths  of  the  people  are  to 
perish.  If,  however,  they  will  engage  and  depend  on 
the  Great  Mistress  of  the  Southern  Sea  and  the  Great 
White  Star  Pnnce,  then  these  two  divmities  will  interpose 
their  strength  to  effect  a  deliverance,  will  scrutinize  the 
good  and  evil  deeds  of  the  people,  and  if  they  find  these 
nearly  balanced,  then  the  threatened  judgments  from 
Heaven  shall  in  some  degree  be  diminished. 

"  On  the  9th,  19th,  and  29th  of  each  month,  the  peo- 
ple must  burn  incense  toward  the  south  ;  and  kneeling 

M* 


.122  IN    oniNA. 

and  worshiping,  they  must  swear  that  they  will  be  true 
and  faithful,  dutiful  to  their  parents  and  affectionate  to 
their  brothers  ;  and  likewise  will  abstain  from  the  slaugh- 
ter of  all  living  creatures,  and  perform  rightly  every  ap- 
propriate duty  ;  then  their  petitions  may  be  heard,  and 
pardon  and  indulgence  granted  to  them. 

"  If  they  will  write  out  and  circulate  a  single  copy  of 
these  instructions,  a  single  person  shall  have  i")rotectiou ; 
if  ten  copies,  then  a  whole  family  shall  have  protection  ; 
and  if  a  hundred,  then  a  whole  neighborhood.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  knowing  these  instructions  they  will  not 
circulate  them,  then  they  shall  perish,  and  so  receive  the 
pimishments  their  sins  deserve. 

"  Written  and  circulated  on  the  6th  day  of  the  6th 
month  of  the  6th  year  of  Hienfung  (July  Vth,  1856)." 

The  mode  of  one's  introduction  to  person  or  place  has 
ever  much  to  do  with  om*  estimate  of  his  or  its  character, 
so  little  is  our  judgment  independent  of  circumstances  im- 
perceptibly influencing  it.  That  large  and  influential 
portion  of  the  body,  which  manages  the  business  of  our 
daily  existence,  is  not  disposed  to  yield  the  uifluence  of 
its  practical  iinportance  and  coarse  avocations  to  the  aris- 
tocratic importance  of  the  head  and  heart. 

As  good  dinner  tables  make  agreeable  companions  and 
give  eloquence  to  diplomatic  arguments,  so  an  abundant 
and  choice  supply  of  provender  wins  one  to  sj^eak  kindly 
of  the  locality  in  which  it  is  found.  If  any  one  who 
knows  the  jilace  thinks  my  estimate  of  Shanghae  enthu- 
siastic and  not  sufficiently  moderated  by  the  evU  I  may 
speak  of  it,  let  him  consider  the  cii'cumstances  under 
which  I  first  made  its  acquaintance. 

In  October,  1856,  we  had,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
days  in  Japan,  been  a  year  wilting,  wearing  and  wearying 
amid  tropical  and  summer  heats — diluting  our  vapid  ex- 


SnANGHAE.  323 

istence  witli  weak  and  insipid  fruits.  With  the  prep- 
aration of  these  experiences  we  came  to  the  refi-eshing 
and  invigorating  coolness  of  the  autumn  atmosphere  of 
Shanghae.  Although  the  locust  flight  seemed  unfavor- 
able, that  ended  a  day  or  two  after  our  arrival,  and  rain 
came  on.  There  was  an  eloquence  which  spoke  of  home, 
in  the  putting  down  of  woolen  carpets,  and  the  putting 
up  of  stoves  and  winter  curtains  in  the  houses  of  our  new 
but  hospitable  friends.  The  agreeable  associations  were 
continued  in  the  streets,  Avhere  we  met  long-cued  China- 
men vending  strings  of  wild  pigeons,  wild  ducks,  snipe 
and  golden-necked  pheasants.  In  such  a  relation  the 
Chinamen  looked  jDicturesque,  and  in  one's  heart  arose  an 
argument  for  the  unity  of  race,  founded  on  the  sympathy 
of  "  Foreign  Devil"  and  "  Celestial"  for  such  respectable 
birds — the  more  respectable  when  introduced  to  us,  as  they 
were,  assoiated  with  the  hospitality  of  our  resident  coun- 
trymen ;  and  continued  in  my  acquaintance  in  the  agreeable 
home  to  which  I  was  welcomed  by  Mr.  F.  D.  Williams. 

Shanghae  comes  upon  one  as  a  magical  creation — that  is, 
upon  one  no  better  informed  than  I  was  in  regard  to  it, 
and  few  can  be  familiar  with  it,  for  the  place  is  just  born. 
Most  of  us  are  accustomed  to  the  rapidity  with  which  cities 
spring  up  in  our  new  West.  But  even  in  the  genial  and 
fertile  atmosphere  of"  Young  America,"  and  with  the  stim- 
ulants of  progression,  they  have  the  modesty  to  start  with 
the  infantile  existence  of  villages ;  but  Shanghae,  as  a  city 
of  foreigners,  seems  to  have  sprung  at  once  into  adult  pala- 
tial strength  and  glory.  Twelve  years  ago  the  place  of 
which  I  am  now  writing  was  a  swamp,  dotted  over  with 
filthy  bamboo-built  Chinese  hovels.  Now,  for  a  mile 
along  the  gentle  curve  of  a  broad  river,  by  nearly  the 
same  extent  in  breadth,  is  a  city  of  large,  commodious 
and  elegant  residences.  These  houses  are  generally  built 
in  what  is  called  a  "  compound,"  a  wall-enclosed  plat  of 


324  IN     C  TI  I  X  A  . 

garden  and  sbubbcry — the  walls  forming  the  boundaries 
of  the  streets,  "which  are  opened  upon  by  carriage  gates, 
guarded  by  porters'  lodges.  The  streets  themselves  are 
of  comfortable  width,  neat  and  clean,  and  bearing  such 
significant,  wholesome,  intelligible  naiues  as  "  Mission 
Street,"  "Church  Street,"  "Bridge  Street,"  "Custom 
House  Lane,"  painted  on  the  corners.  A  sense  of  secur- 
ity is  given  by  the  aj^pearance,  m  all  parts  of  the  town, 
of  a  uniformed  foreign  police. 

The  "  Bund,"  a  wide,  pleasant  promenade  and  carriage 
drive,  curves  along  the  river's  bank  in  front  of  the  city, 
and  is  active  during  the  early  hours  of  the  day  Avith  busi- 
ness, and  cheerful  in  the  afternoon  with  equestrians,  car- 
riages and  promenaders.  The  river  itself,  at  each  of  our 
visits  to  Shanghae,  was  crowded  with  shipping,  chiefly 
bearing  the  flags  of  England  and  America,  but  with  a 
sprinkling  of  those  of  other  nations — the  elephant  ban- 
ner of  Siam  being  among  the  more  numerous,  and  indi- 
cating the  growing  trade  between  these  countries.  Ten 
of  our  own  beautiful  clippers,  of  over  a  thousand  tons 
each,  graced  the  harbor  at  the  time  of  this  our  first  visit. 

The  part  of  the  foreign  settlement  of  Shanghae  at 
which  we  have  now  glanced,  although  made  up  of  all 
nations,  is  called  the  "  English  Settlement."  It  extends 
from  the  Yan-kin-pang  creek  on  the  south,  down  the 
river  to  Su-chau  creek,  or  Woosung  river,  on  the  north. 
Crossing  Su-chau  creek,  the  shore  runs  almost  at  right 
angles  to  its  former  direction,  and  here,  with  an  indefinite 
limit  of  expansion  in  all  directions,  is  what  is  called  the 
"  American  Settlement,"  so  called,  I  presume,  because  it 
is  the  location  of  the  American  Episcoj^al,  and  part  of 
the  American  Presbyterian  mission,  being  also,  accident- 
ally, the  residence  of  the  American  consul.  Again,  above 
the  "English,"  or  central  settlement,  from  the  south 
shore  of  the  Yan-kin-i^ang  creek  to  the  walls  of  the  old 


SHAXGHAE,  325 

Chinese  city  of  Shanghac,  is  a  waste  of  sparsely  settled 
territory,  over  which  flies  the  French  flag,  called  the 
"  French  Community,"  and  particularly  ticketed  in  its  na- 
tionality by  a  sign-board,  labeled  "  La  Concession  Fran- 
^aise." 

These  national  designations  are  instructive,  as  showing 
the  narrow  and  exclusive  spirit  in  which  a  little  band  of 
foreigners  will  attempt  to  perpetuate  their  peculiarities 
and  divisions  upon  the  little  spot  of  the  empire  of  China 
upon  which  they  have  planted  themselves ;  instructive, 
also,  as  showing  how  such  bigotry  is  swept  away  by  the 
broad  stream  of  a  common  necessity  and  a  common  pros- 
perity. In  the  first  settlement  of  this  foreign  commu- 
nity, the  British  authorities,  somehow,  from  habit,  per- 
haps, had  the  idea  that  the  exclusive  jurisdiction  centered 
in  them  ;  and  it  was  required  that  all  the  purchasers  of 
property  from  the  original  Chinese  owners  should  have 
their  deeds  made  out  and  registered  at  the  British  con- 
sulate. These  deeds  contained  a  clause  saying  that  the 
property  was  to  be  held  subject  to  the  regulations  of  the 
British  consulate.  No  one  paid  much  attention  to  the 
meaning  of  this  provision,  thinking  it  was  all  a  matter  of 
course ;  but  one  of  these  regulations  was,  that  none  but 
the  English  flag  should  fly  upon  this  territory. 

Messrs.  Griswold  and  Cunningliam,  two  members  of 
the  American  house  of  Kussell  &  Co.,  held,  in  succession, 
the  office  of  United  States  consul,  and  had  the  firmness 
and  spirit  to  resist  these  pretensions.  The  former  gen- 
tleman planted  a  tall  flag-staft',  and  from  it  he  flew  the 
flag  of  his  consulate.  The  British  consul  ordered  it  to 
be  hauled  down,  which  was  refused.  Subsequently  Mr. 
Cunningham,  being  consul,  informed  his  countrymen  that 
these  deeds  need  not  pass  tlirough  the  British  consular 
office,  but  through  that  of  the  United  States.  This  con- 
troversy, as  far  as  I  could  learn,  was  carried  on  in  no  ini- 


326  IN    CHINA. 

proper  or  captious  spirit,  but  tbat  of  functionaries  who 
gave  each  other  credit  for  convictions  of  right.  It  was 
referretl  by  the  British  consul  to  his  home  government 
for  decision,  and  that  government,  in  a  just  and  expedi- 
ent view  of  the  case,  assented  to  the  claims  of  the  United 
States  consuls.  The  result  is  the  elegant  and  prosperous 
city  which  has  so  rapidly  sprung  into  existence,  and  over 
which,  since  that  contest,  fly  the  flags  of  many  nations. 

It  was  said  that  the  French  consul,  at  this  day,  insists 
upon  some  such  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  "  La  Conces- 
sion Fraucaise."  With  the  teaching  of  this  past  experi- 
ence before  him,  one  can  hardly  credit  such  a  statement. 
If  any  demand  for  occupying  the  French  Concession  arises, 
of  course  such  pretension  must  yield  to  it  ;  and  unless 
French  commerce  increases  beyond,  its  now  two  or  three 
shijjs  a  year,  that  exclusive  territory  must  remain  a  waste. 
One  patriotic  French  house  has  now  sate  itself  down  in 
the  "  Concession,"  and,  notwithstanding  all  its  attractions 
of  French  importations,  one  may  live,  as  many  do,  a  long 
time  in  Shanghae,  and  not  hear  of  its  existence. 

There  are  only  about  four  hundred  foreigners  in  this 
whole  settlement ;  but  there  are  more  than  twenty  thou- 
sand Chinese,  who  have  built  or  rented  European  houses 
in  this  foreign  settlement,  and  come  under  the  govern- 
ment of  the  foreigners,  who,  by  a  mixed  council,  control 
the  whole  place.  Natives  guilty  of  ofienses  are  sent  in  to 
the  rulers  of  the  native  city  for  punishment,  and  there  is 
nothing  they  dread  so  much,  preferring  to  trust  them- 
selves to  foreign  retribution. 

We  have  had  this  chat  about  Shanghae,  if  near  the 
Bund,  amid  bustling  scenes  and  noisy  cries — cries  fi'om 
the  boats,  cargo-boats,  and  others  on  the  river — cries 
from  the  vendors  of  fruits,  cakes,  and  confectionery,  on 
shore ;  but,  above  all,  on  every  hand,  turning  every  cor- 
ner, up  and  down  every  street,  there  comes  upon  our  ears 


SUANGHAE.  327 

the  wail,  "  A-boo  ! — a-hoo  ! — a-hoo  !" — tlie  cry  of  the 
laboring  coolies,  who,  with  the  bowed  staff  on  their 
shoulders,  and  a  burden  on  each  end,  are  hurrying  along 
with  tottering  steps,  and  an  expression  in  this  cry  as 
though  the  breath  was  being  pressed  from  their  bodies  at 
every  step.  And,  from  the  weight  of  their  burdens,  this 
might  well  be  the  case,  for  all  cargoes  are  transported  to 
and  from  the  wharves  and  warehouses  by  men.  The  loco- 
motion of  foreigners,  and  of  most  Chinese  above  the  rank 
of  laborers,  is  done  in  sedan-chairs  upon  men's  shoulders. 
No  burden  vehicles  or  horses  are  seen,  those  of  the  Bund 
being  mere  displays  of  luxury.  Human  labor  is  cheaper 
than  that  of  horses  or  machinery.  A  striking  illustration 
of  this  fact  was  seen  in  the  docking  of  ships.  Instead  of 
shutting  the  water  out  by  gates,  when  a  ship  had  entered 
the  dock  and  the  tide  has  passed  out,  fi'om  seventy-five 
to  a  hundred  Chinamen,  passing  balls  of  clay  from  hand 
to  hand,  keep  ahead  of  the  coming  tide,  banking  out 
the  river  and  shutting  in  the  dock.  All  of  this,  of 
course,  must  be  dug  out  again,  to  permit  the  exit  of  the 
ship. 

Adjoining  this  foreign  settlement  of  Shanghae,  shut  in 
by  dark,  gloomy  granite  walls,  thirty  feet  high,  is  the  old, 
or  Chinese  city.  The  approaches  and  the  entrance  to  it 
are  most  repulsive.  On  each  side  of  the  streets  leading 
to  the  gates  are  grouped  most  disgusting,  deformed,  wail- 
ing and  howling  beggars.  The  details  of  the  condition 
and  appearance  of  these  wretches  would  be  too  repulsive 
for  narration.  I  have  known  persons  deterred  from  enter- 
ing the  city  by  the  horror  of  encountering  these  sights. 
I  will  merely  mention  that  a  common  deformity,  and  one 
of  the  least  offensive,  is  that  of  persons  who  have  lost 
their  feet  at  the  ankle  joint,  by  the  attempt  to  bandage 
them  into  littleness.  The  common  impression  among 
foreigners  is,  that  Chinese  have  no  sympathy  Avith  each 


328  IN     CHINA. 

other's  sufterings ;  but  these  congregations  of  beggars, 
placed  in  the  thoronghfare  of  this  Chinese  city,  must  get 
their  assistance  from  tlieir  countrymen  ;  indeed,  some  of 
them  liave  appeals,  written  in  Chinese  characters,  spread 
out  before  them. 

The  gates  are  low  arched  channels,  passing  through 
the  thickness  of  the  city  wall  and  embankment  about 
thirty  feet,  and  looking  like  the  entrance  to  sewers.  The 
streets  are  the  sewers  themselves,  being  about  eight  feet 
wade,  and  thronged  with  opposing  currents  of  the  people, 
whilst  before  and  behind  you  are  heard  the  shouts  of 
burden  or  sedan-chair  cooUes,  calling  upon  you  to  clear 
the  track,  to  press  close  into  the  houses  while  they  pass. 
In  all  this  the  humble  coolie  is  authoritative,  and  sure  to 
be  submissively  obeyed,  as,  unless  you  are  prompt  in  get- 
ting out  of  his  way,  a  chair-pole  may  knock  you  down, 
or  you  may  be  bespattered  from  buckets  of  filth,  which 
would  associate  you  most  oftensively  with  Chinese. 

It  is  difficult  to  give  an  idea  of  the  filth  of  this  city. 
The  sublimity  of  the  spectacle  of  the  decapitation  at 
one  time  of  hundreds  of  human  beings,  as  frequently 
happens  in  China,  will  attract  those  whose  sensibifities 
would  shrink  from  a  single  execution,  so  there  is  almost 
an  attraction  in  the  exaggeration  of  the  foulness  of  this 
place.  It  is  di-amatic — a  spectacle  to  be  looked  on  in 
wonder.  It  goes  beyond  the  scope  of  an  uneducated 
imagination,  and  fascinates  one  by  daring  their  senses 
and  powers  of  endurance,  leaving  a  feeling  of  heroism 
after  having  successfully  encountered  the  ordeal,  as 
though  a  hydra  had  been  overcome.  Among  the  pecu- 
liarly disagreeable  sights  are  the  criminals  exposed  lying 
on  the  ground,  in  corners  of  the  streets,  with  their  necks 
in  the  cangue — a  heavy  wooden  square,  about  three  feet 
broad,  with  a  hole  in  the  centre,  through  which  the  head 
is  placed,  the  cangue  resting  on  the  shoulders  like  a  col- 


S  H  A  N"  GH  A  K  .  329 

l:ir.  Thus  confined,  tlie  criminal  lies  in  the  surrounding 
filth  on  the  ground,  exposed  to  swarms  of  flies  and  in- 
sects, to  the  hot  sun  of  the  hot  weather,  and  to  the  eyes 
of  the  public. 

Among  the  attractions  of  Shanghae  are  the  tea-gardens, 
a  collection  of  artificial  lakes,  popds,  walks,  grottoes, 
mountains,  temples,  j^leasure-houses,  with  small  picturesque 
bridges  thrown  over  the  streams  connecting  the  lakes  and 
ponds.  It  would  naturally  be  supposed  that  the  taste  which 
could  demand  such  a  place  of  recreation  and  resort,  would  a 
be  sufiiciently  refined  to  make  some  approach  to  neatness 
and  decency.  It  may,  however,  have  seen  more  decent  days; 
at  present  it  is  dirty,  dark  and  decayed.  Its  waters  are 
stagnant  green  pools.  It  seems  given  up  to  fortune-tellers, 
conjurors,  quack  doctors,  obscene  showtnen,  lazzaroni, 
loafers  and  rowdies.  There,  are,  however,  several  attrac- 
tive curio  and  painted  fan  stores  in  the  tea-gardens ;  and 
on  a  festive  day,  when  the  people  are  in  their  more  showy 
garb,  the  crowds  in  this  place,  the  clanging  of  gongs  and 
exploding  of  crackers,  amid  which,  the  showmen,  the  tum- 
blers, and  the  conjurors  are  busy,  make  it  a  characteristic 
scene  of  Chinese  animation.  I  once  visited  this  jjlace  when 
it  was  thronged  with  people  upon  the  occasion  of  an  eclipse 
of  the  sun.  The  authorities  Avere  assembled  in  the  great 
temple,  and  the  gods  of  the  temple  Avere  placed  out  in  its 
front.  The  din  of  gongs  was  terrific,  the  purpose  being 
to  frighten  away  the  dragon  who  was  devouring  the  sun. 
So  far  as  the  authorities  were  engaged  in  the  afiair,  I  pre- 
sume it  was  merely  a  concession  to  popular  superstition, 
as  the  astronomical  knowledge  of  those  of  suflicient  liter- 
ary attainments  to  be  in  authority,  would  forbid  any  such 
delusion.  Indeed,  tliis  very  eclipse  had  been  calculated 
with  much  accuracy  by  a  native. 

About  two  hundred  thousand  is  supposed  to  be  the 
present  native  population  of  Shanghae.     A  largo  trade  is 


3.30 


IN      CHINA, 


carrieil  on  witli  the  interior,  and  junks  from  distant  prov- 
inces are  moored  in  Iront  of  the  city,  with  water  avenues 
between  them,  their  masts  looking  Hke  a  thicket  stripped 
of  its  leaves.  It  is  the  sea-port  of  the  large  manufacturing 
city  of  Snchow,  distant  ahout  eighty  miles  ;  and  the  heavy 
silks,  satins,  embroideries,  lacquer  ware,  and  inlaid  work 
of  Suchow,  give  richness  and  elegance  to  the  native  stores 
of  Shanghae.  In  the  fall  and  winter  seasons  the  fur 
stores  are  also  attractive  from  the  variety  and  richness  of 
.their  wares,  brought  in  from  the  Russian  settlements.  By 
a  sumptuary  law  certain  furs  are  only  permitted  to  be  worn 
by  mandarins  of  a  high  rank  ;  and  what  is  called  a  robe, 
sufficient  to  cover  the  body  back  and  front  to  the  knees, 
sells  for  from  one  to  five  hundred  dollars,  according  to 
genuineness  and.  quality.  A  respectable  Chinese  citizen's 
winter  wardrobe  is  very  expensive,  costing  from  one  to 
two  thousand  dollars. 

The  great  commercial  iDrosjDerity  of  Shanghae,  and  the 
legitimate  relations  which  the  western  nations  have  with 
it,  are  dependent  upon  its  tea  and  silk  trade.  The  follow- 
ing tables  taken  from  the  N'orth  China  Herald,  will  exhib- 
it the  extent,  nature  and  jDrospects  of  the  trade  of  Shang- 
hae. 


CoxrPAB.\'nvE  Statement  or  the  Expokt  op  Tea  and  Silk  fkom  the  Poet  or 

Shanghae,  dtteing  the  Yeaes  1854-55,  1355-56,  and  1850-57. 

TEA. 


1854^5. 

1855-56. 

1856-57. 

Black. 
Ihs. 

Green. 
lbs. 

Black. 

lbs. 

Green. 
lbs. 

Black. 
lbs. 

Green. 

lbs. 

To  G.  Britain. 
"  AustralLa... 
"  N.A.Colon. 
"  Continent. . 
"  U.  States. . 

39,586,059 

2,798,548 

814,852 

1,031.781 

1,154,573 

10,428,036 

1,250,431 

419,659 

152,995 

22,584,308 

24,663,430 
3,197,172 

960,229 

289,442 

8,543,424 

543,340 

375,680 

71,712 

20,650,537 

10,607,084 
286,144 

1,195,905 
381,553 

10,794,487 
184,576 
275,0  6 
303,043 

16,886,572 

45,885,816 

34,835,429 

29,115,273 

30,184,693 

12,470,636 

28,443,704 

SHANGHAE, 


.331 


185^55. 


To  G.B'n,  (fir'i  38,28T 
"  Hong  Kong  5,424 
"  U.  States...      — 


Bales 43,711 


5,293  755 
3,838,  — 


SILK. 


1855-56. 


368  53  36,300 
—I  9,206 
— I  1,188 


9,131  7551368 


53  46,694 


4,961 
4,835 


1856-5T. 


18  50,304  2,418:1,598 
-1 27,255  8,261  262 
-    1,632     —         — 


405  93 
20,209 
5    - 


9,796  929  44!  18  79,191  10,679|l,860l430  302 


In  1 855,  the  money  value  of  exports  from  Shanghae  was 
£12,603,540,  and  of  the  imports  from  all  sources£7,193,023, 
of  which  £2,335,017  was  specie,  and  £3,174,949  was  opium, 
leaving  only  £1,683,057  worth  of  manufactures  and  other 
products. 

The  principal  green  tea  district  finds  its  market  and 
port  of  export  at  Shanghae,  as  do  also  the  silk  districts. 
It  is  suiEciently  convenient  to  the  black  tea  districts ; 
though  at  present  these  find  their  chief  market  at  Foo 
Chow. 

Shanghae  maintains  its  present  commercial  prosperity 
against  great  disadvantages.  The  first  and  principal  dif- 
ficulty is  in  the  currency.  It  forms  a  substantial  answer 
to  the  question,  "  What 's  in  a  name  ?"  According  to  the 
name  covering  the  same  value  of  silver,  there  was  a  very 
large  percentage  of  value,  at  the  time  of  our  visit.  A  good, 
honest,  respectable  Mexican  dollar,  in  shopping  transac- 
tions, would  only  buy  seventy-five  cents'  worth  of  goods; 
a  "  Carolus,"  or  full-dressed  "Ferdinand,"  would  buy 
double  as  much ;  and  in  exchanging  "  Carolus"  dollars 
for  bills  on  London,  each  one  was  worth  one  dollar  and 
seventy-five  cents — the  fictitious  value  of  the  "  Carolus" 
being  added  to  the  difference  of  exchange  caused  by  the 
above  stated  disproportion  between  exports  and  imports. 

When  teas  and  silks  have  to  be  paid  for  at  such  a  rate 
of  exchange,  and,  intjvery  other  portion  of  the  empire  at 


:<32  IN      CHINA. 

which  we  tratle — at  cacli  of  the  live  i^orts — there  is  only 
the  difterencc  of  exchange,  tlic  discrimination  against 
Sliangliae  may  bo  estimatod,  and  is  evidently  very  great. 
There  have  been  many  efforts  made  by  Chinese  authori- 
ties, and  by  the  foreign  merchants,  to  arrange  this  difficulty, 
but  they  have  all  gone  to  prove  the  power  of  a  national 
prejudice  over  a  national  policy.  The  interior  men — the 
tea  and  silk  cultivators — will  take  nothing  but  the  "  Ca- 
rolus,"  and  add  to  the  evil  by  hoarding  them,  and  thus 
withdrawing  them  from  circulation.  I  have  heard  it  sup- 
posed there  were  as  many  "  Carolus"  dollars  buried  under 
the  ground  as  there  were  in  circulation  above  it.  Attempts 
have  been  made  to  imitate  this  dollar,  giving  equal  weight 
and  jiurity  of  silver,  but  as  yet  no  such  attempts  have  been 
successful.  Of  course,  such  an  artificial  and.  unnatural 
state  of  afliairs  could  not  be  permanent.  At  my  visit  to 
Shanghae  in  the  fall  of  1857,  the  Carolus  dollar  had  almost 
disappeared,  and  the  currency  was  sycee — bar  silver — the 
tael  of  sycee  being  worth  the  dollar  of  one  hundred  cents ; 
values  and  prices  were  all  estimated  in  taels,  though  gen- 
erally jDaid  for,  except  in  large  transactions,  in  Mexicans 
at  seventy-five  cents. 

The  other  fact  adverse  to  the  fullest  prosperity  of  Shang- 
hae is,  that  it  is  a  port  of  compelled  honesty,  while  in  the 
other  ports  that  virtue  is  left  to  the  discretion  and  inter- 
est of  the  parties  concerned.  The  Chinese  authorities, 
when  they  discovered  that  a  large  and  growing  com- 
merce was  to  be  carried  on  between  their  peojile  and  for- 
eigners, at  this  port,  with  a  sagacious  regard  for  their  own 
interests,  and,  at  the  same  time,  in  a  spirit  of  liberality 
and  justice,  authorized  the  establishment  of  a  foreign  in 
spectorate  of  customs ;  each  treaty  power  was  to  appoint 
one  of  its  citizens  an  insj^ector,  and  jointly  they  were  to 
arrange  all  matters  of  duties  and  fees  between  foreigners 
and  the  Chinese  authorities,  were  torfidvise  and  direct  the 


SUANGHAE.  333 

Chinese  in  all  these  matters  to  which  they  were  so  unac- 
customed. To  carry  out  this  arrangement  the  native  au- 
thorities gave  the  inspectors  liberal  salaries,  commodious 
accommodations,  and  an  ample  corps  of  native  and  for- 
eign assistants,  with  a  revenue-cutter,  armed,  manned  and 
officered  according  to  agreement. 

Chinese  custom-houses  are  said  to  be  peculiarly  admin- 
istered in  bribery  and  corruption,  so  that  a  small  portion 
of  the  just  duties  are  paid,  and  of  this  small  portion,  a 
very  Umited  sum  passes  the  pockets  of  the  officials  who 
receive  it,  to  the  government  treasury.  If  such  be  the  fact 
where  Chinese  are  concerned  with  Chinese,  over  all  of 
whom  the  authorities  have  such  despotic  control,  it  is  easy 
to  see  that  should  foreigners  unworthily  enter  into  such 
arrangements  for  defrauding  the  revenue,  there  would  be 
still  less  chance  of  redress ;  hence  committing  these  for- 
eign revenue  interests  to  a  corps  of  well-paid  and  com- 
petent foreigners  having  no  interests  in  trade,  and  respon- 
sible both  to  their  own  consuls  and  to  the  Chinese  authori- 
ties, was,  on  the  part  of  those  authorities,  a  wise  measure; 
but  of  course  it  puts  Shanghae  to  the  disadvantage  of 
being  in  the  bonds  of  official  honesty,  while  the  sister 
ports  are  left  to  the  largest  liberty  of  licentious  freedom, 
and  the  measure  naturally  encounters  tlie  opposition  of 
those  who  would  like  to  avail  themselves  of  that  freedom. 
It  also  encounters  the  jealousy  of  the  consulates  which,  not 
being  those  of  treaty  powers,  are  excluded  fi'om  a  nomi- 
nation of  the  inspectors.  The  only  reason  why  such  an 
arrangement  exists  exclusively  at  Shanghae,  is  because  of 
its  greater  necessity  from  the  extent  of  its  commerce ;  but 
if  a  useful  system,  it  should  be  apphed  to  the  other  ports. 

Xotwitlistanding  these  drawbacks,  the  trade  of  Shang- 
hae seems  to  go  on  most  in-osperously.  I  liave  known 
twenty-two  vessels  to  arrive  in  one  day,  and  have  counted 
a  list  of  over  eighty  in  port  at  one  time. 


334 


IN     CHINA, 


The  following  is  a  list  of  vessels,  of  heavy  tonnage, 
which  arrived  in  this  port  in  the  months  set  opposite  their 
names  of  the  years  185C-57 : 


Name. 

From. 

Cargo. 

Month.     Tons.] 

Neptune's  Favorite 

San  Francisco 

Ballast 

Heavy 

do  ■ 

Ballast 

do     

Rice 

October 

November.... 

do     

December 

do     

do     

January 

do     

February 

do       

September 

do     

February 

April 

1846 
1296 
1041 
1137 
1267 
1429 
1781 
1174 
109S 
1441 
1192 
1435 
1000 
1381 
1045 
1549 
1481 
1173 

do     

San  Francisco 

do     

Don  Quixote 

Siam 

San  Francisco 

llong  Kong 

New  York 

Hong  Kong 

Ballast 

Rice 

Kagle  Wing 

Contest.             

Heavy 

Rice 

Criilden  West 

Heavy 

do     

Ballast 

Rice 

do     

San  Francisco 

Hong  Kong 

do         '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 

do         

Calcutta 

J.Bell 

North  Wind 

do     

do     

do     

do     

f^kv-lark 

do     

July 

Intrepid 

I  am  particular  in  giving  this  list,  because  an  impres- 
sion has  been  sent  abroad  by  high  authority,  that  the 
difficulties  of  the  river  are  opposed  to  the  prosperity  of 
Shanghae,  and  I  shall  hereafter  have  occasion  to  refer  to 
it  in  an  argument  upon  certain  measures  which  I  regard 
as  expedient  for  the  interests  of  the  United  States  govern- 
ment. It  is  true  that,  upon  the  occasion  of  our  first  visit, 
the  San  Jacinto,  drawing  eighteen  feet  water,  grounded 
in  the  river.  It  is  equally  true  she  ought  not  to  have 
grounded,  there  being  plenty  of  water  in  the  channel — 
there  being,  at  full  tides,  twenty-three  feet  water  on  the 
bar. 

At  the  time  of  our  second  visit  to  Shanghae,  in  the 
fall  of  1857,  a  change  of  Taou  Tais  occurred.  Lan,  who 
occujDied  the  place,  for  some  reason  was  appointed  to 
another  and  less  desirable  position,  not  perhaps  as  any 
punishment  or  disgrace,  but  because  the  very  profitable 
position  was  wanted  by  some  more  influential  pohtician. 
Lan  was  removed,  and  Teue  appointed  to  his  place.  Very 
soon  after  ai-riving  at  Shanghae,  the  ex  and  the  new  Taou 


SHANGHAE.  335 

Tai  notified,  ttie  consuls  of  the  three  treaty  powers  tliat 
they  would  make  an  official  call.  The  Uuited  States 
consul  asked  me  to  be  present  at  the  interview.  A  mixed 
entertainment,  partly  in  our  own  fashion,  and  partly  Chi- 
nese, was  gotten  up  for  the  occasion.  The  Chinese  part  ot 
the  tiffin  consisted  of  various  neat  and  incomprehensible 
articles  of  ornamental  cakes,  jellies  and  confectionery — 
the  American  part,  of  champagne  wine.  The  day  and  horn- 
had  been  appointed  some  days  before ;  and  nearly  an 
hour  before  the  arrival  of  the  officials,  a  messenger  came 
with  three  cards.  These  were  those  of  the  old  Taou  Tai, 
the  new  Taou  Tai,  and  the  prefect  or  district  magistrate. 
To  each  pertained  two  cards — slips  of  pink  paper  about 
ten  inches  long  and  three  wide.  On  one  Avas  the  name 
of  the  individual,  and  on  tlie  others  his  titles  of  honor. 
With  soun(^ng  gong  and  cries  of  their  attendants,  they 
came  with  a  crowded  retinue  on  foot.  First,  there  entered 
our  iiiclosure  two  lads  in  official  caps,  bearing,  suspended 
from  a  stick  on  their  shoulders,  a  crimson  trunk,  in  which 
was  a  suit  of  criminal's  clothes.  These  are  borne  before 
the  Taou  Tai  on  such  occasions,  to  indicate  to  him  his 
entire  dej^endence  upon  the  emperor's  authority;  that 
whenever  an  order  from  the  emperor  may  reach  him, 
iu  the  house,  or  on  the  way,  he  must  descend  from  his 
state,  and,  if  commanded,  aj^pear  as  a  criminal  before  his 
judges. 

The  officials  were  in  full  mandarin  costume,  vdih  the 
respective  buttons  of  their  rank,  their  peacock-tail  plume, 
and  armorial  bearings  embroidered  on  the  backs  and 
breasts  of  their  robes. 

Having  descended  from  the  sedan  chairs,  they  were 
met  by  us  at  the  door,  when  they  chin-chinned  by  fold- 
ing tlieir  haiids  together  in  a  fist  form,  and  sliaking  thcni 
two  or  three  times  in  front  of  their  breasts,  bowing  their 
heads  slightly  at  the  same  time,  which  motions  we  imitated. 


33G  IN     CHINA. 

After  a  few  minutes'  prefatory  and  ceremonial  conver- 
sation in  the  dining-room,  we  adjourned  to  that  where 
the  table  was  spread,  and  our  visitors  j^artook  of  the 
refreshments  at  least  with  the  courtesy  of  appearing  to 
like  them,  taking  wine  with  us  as  asked,  and  in  return 
for  such  things  as  we  helped  them  to,  placing  others  on 
our  plates. 

They  had,  very  prudently,  not  depended  upon  our  pro- 
viding them  with  the  luxury  of  napkins  soaked  in  hot 
water,  but  their  servants  had  come  provided  with  them, 
and,  obtaining  from  ours  the  hot  water,  handed  the 
smoking  cloths  to  their  masters  at  the  close  of  the  re- 
Y>Sist.  Conversation  as  abrui:)t  and  rugged  as  ours  is  in 
its  most  courteous  refinement,  must  appear  harsh  to  peo- 
ple accustomed  to  language  of  such  studied  ceremony  as 
theirs.  ^ 

A  Chinese  gentleman  with  formal  courtesy  depreciates 
all  that  belongs  to  himself,  and  exalts  all  pertaining  to 
him  with  whom  he  converses. 

"  How  are  the  branches  of  your  family  tree  ?" 

"  My  own  little  pupjoies  are,  etc." 

"  After  the  sj^lendor  of  your  own  palace,  I  hope  you 
can  endure  my  little  hut  ?" 

"Your  greatness  of  understanding  is  accumulating 
riches ;  my  own  stupidity  condemns  me  to  poverty." 

"  In  your  palace,  how  many  ages  have  you  remained?" 
or,  "  At  your  feet  I  inquire  how  many  noble  cycles  ?"  i.  e., 
How  old  are  you  ? 

"  How  is  he  whose  commands  you  receive  and  are 
obliged  to  obey  ?"  i.  e..  How  is  your  father  ? 

"  How  is  the  great,  great  person,  who  issues  commands 
in  the  hall  ?"  i.  e.,  your  mother. 

Id  the  course  of  a  few  days,  in  return  for  the  consul's 
entertainment,  there  came  an  invitation  on  a  sheet  of  un- 
folded vermiUion  paper,  in  an  envelope  a  foot  long,  written 


SHAKGHAE,  337 

over  with  Chinese  characters,  and  opening  at  one  end.  It 
may  be  supposed  to  read  as  follows : 

"  My  house  is  thoroughly  cleansed.  On  the  twelfth 
day  of  the  ninth  moon,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  my 
table  will  be  garnished ;  my  wine-cups  will  be  scoured 
and  bright ;  and  I  will  be  waiting  in  an  attitude  of  sub- 
mission the  light  of  your  countenance."  For  such  is  the 
style  of  a  Chinese  iuA'itation. 

At  the  appointed  time  we  went  in  sedan  chairs  with 
the  dignity  of  four-bearers,  wearing  red-tasseled  caps. 
Gongs  and  horns  and  guns  saluted  our  entrance  to  the 
court-yard  of  the  Taou  Tai.  His  excellency  met  us,  and 
we  chin-chinned  as  before.  He  carefully  inquired  of  the 
interpreter  the  respective  rank  of  the  individuals,  and 
seated  those  of  the  highest  on  an  elevated  divan  on  his 
left. 

This  entertainment  was  similar  to  our  own,  with  foreign 
wines,  hot  tea,  and  a  pleasant  drink  of  raw  almond  emul- 
sion ;  and  as  we  came  away,  the  guns  and  the  gongs 
saluted  our  departure  as  they  had  done  our  arrival. 


XXVII. 

SHANaHAE. 


On  the  two  or  three  last  days  of  August  of  one  of  our 
visits  to  Shanghae,  the  boats  in  the  river  presented  lines 
of  bright  lanterns,  giving  the  appearance  of  an  illuminated 
city,  and  the  same  were  seen  in  the  distant  rural  suburbs. 
It  was  the  joyful  offering  of  the  people  for  the  fruitful- 
nes3  of  the  summer.  Considering  how  unspiritual  most 
of  us  are,  there  must  be  something  very  fascinating  in  this 

15 


338  IN    C  U  I  N  A  . 

tangible  acknowledgment  made  to  unseen  deities  for  vis- 
ible benefits. 

A  few  days  after  this  an  opportunity  occurred  of  see- 
ing the  devotion  of  the  Chinese  mind  to  intellectual  and 
moral  superiority;  still,  hoAvever,  manifesting  the  same 
reverential  awe  of  dogmas  which  is  expressed  by  the  vul- 
gar, in  their  imperfect  English,  "  ola  custom."  Certain 
literary  graduates  were  to  receive  a  degree  which  put 
them  in  the  line  of  political  promotion,  and  upon  this 
occasion  they  were  to  bow  themselves  before  the  shrine 
of  Confucius,  Through  and  through  the  tangled  mazes 
and  narrow  lanes  of  the  odorous  city  of  Shanghae,  under 
the  escort  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cunningham  of  the  Methodist 
mission,  Ave  found  our  way  to  the  Confucian  temple  in 
the  suburbs.  It  is  a  simple  structure,  adorned  with  a 
little  Chinese  confused  painting  and  some  gilding — but  no 
idols.  The  main  altar,  if  it  may  be  so  called,  contains 
an  upright  board,  the  tablet  of  Confucius,  upon  which,  in 
gilded  letters,  are  sentences  from  his  philosophy. 

Each  side  of  the  building  contains  a  row  of  similar  tab- 
lets of  his  principal  disciples ;  and  on  either  side  of  the 
main  building  are  wings  Avith  the  tablets  of  other  distin- 
guished Chinese  sages  and  moralists. 

The  neighborhood  of  the  temple,  as  upon  all  such  occa- 
sions in  our  own  country,  Avas  thronged  with  a  carious 
crowd  of  spectators,  most  of  them  in  their  holiday  clothes  ; 
and  thrift-searching  Chinamen  had  erected  mat  booths  for 
supplying  the  demand  for  "  refreshments."  A  large  por- 
tion of  this  crowd  consisted  of  neatly-dressed  females. 

"We,  who  were  in  uniform,  greatly  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  crowd  before  the  arriA^al  of  the  distinguished 
individuals  in  honor  of  whom  it  had  gathered  together. 
They  were  more  familiar  wuth  our  missionary  companions, 
and  these,  as  was  their  habit,  entered  into  conversation 
with  the  crowd.     They  always  listen  with  great  patience 


LITEEARY     EXAMINATIONS.  339 

and  attention  to  any  view  of  religion  wliich  may  be  pre- 
sented to  them,  however  adverse  to  their  own,  and  their 
only  comment  of  dissent  may  be,  "  It  is  a  very  good  re- 
ligion for  you,  but  will  not  answer  for  Chinamen." 

An  individual  among  them,  from  his  attire,  one  of  the 
people,  was  very  a' oluble  in  his  discourse,  though  in  good 
temper,  and  a  little  as  though  inspirited  by  sam-sboo. 
Native  courtesy,  however,  was  conspicuous  in  this  man. 
It  was  warm  and  tii'esome  standing,  and  he  signed  to  us 
to  seat  ourselves  on  the  stone  sill  of  the  adjoining  porch. 
"  Sit  down  yourself,"  said  the  gentleman  with  whom  he 
was  talking.  "  No,  I  am  at  home ;  you  are  a  guest." 
The  graduates,  in  rich  costume,  and  all  young  men,  came 
in  sedan  chairs,  preceded  by  music.  They  were  taking  a 
degree  equivalent  to  Bachelor  of  Arts.  Preceded  by  the 
district  magistrate,  and  following  his  motions,  they  bowed 
three  times  before  the  tablet  of  Confucius,  not,  however, 
entering  the  temple,  and  then  they  made  obeisance  in  an- 
other part  of  the  temple  to  the  judge  or  chancellor. 

The  most  curious  part  of  the  ceremonies  was  their  con- 
clusion. The  instant  the  salutations  were  over,  they  rushed 
to  their  chairs,  which  the  bearers  had  ready,  and  ran  off 
in  the  wildest  kind  of  hurry.  This  was  to  indicate  their 
emulation  in  the  race  of  life,  and  the  speed  with  which 
they  would  reach  the  future  literary  and  political  honors 
which  are  now  open  to  them.  Literature  is  the  Chinese 
road  to  political  i^referment ;  and  hence  at  once  a  dem- 
ocratic practical  principle  is  established,  for  brains  have 
not  their  quantity  and  quahty  in  birth.  So  general  is  the 
operation  of  this  principle,  that,  as  with  ourselves,  the 
stimulus  and  necessity  of  poverty  is  thought  to  be  almost 
essential  to  success  in  China.  The  distinguished  Key-ing, 
Governor  General  of  Two-kwang,  and  Imperial  Commis- 
sioner, was  the  son  of  a  poor  shoemaker. 


3-10  IN     CHINA. 

I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  some  of  the  influences 
which  stimulate  these  young  men  to  continued  effort,  and 
disseminate  ambitious  views  among  the  youth  of  then-  vil- 
lages and  vicinage.  Being  on  the  side  of  the  city  opposite 
to,  and  some  three  miles  from  the  temple  of  Confucius,  I 
saw  apiDroaching  me  a  crowd  of  laboring  men  and  boys, 
hurrying  along  with  bright-colored  banners,  and  in  the 
midst  of  the  crowd,  was  one  of  these  youths  in  his  rich 
costume  and  decorated  sedan  chair.  He  was  being  thus 
honored  and  welcomed  to  his  home  by  the  people  of 
his  neighborhood.  The  examination  for  the  Keu  Jin, 
M.  A.,  takes  place  in  the  principal  city  of  each  province 
once  in  three  years,  and  also  upon  some  si^ecial  occasions. 
At  the  higher  examination  held  at  Xankin,  the  number  of 
candidates  is  veiy  large,  the  average  being  twenty  thou- 
sand, and  of  these  only  an  average  of  two  hundred  is  suc- 
cessful. 

"When  the  candidates  enter,  they  are  searched  for 
books  or  scraj^s  of  writing  which  might  assist  them  in 
writing  their  essays,  and  the  strictest  2:)recautions  are 
taken  to  prevent  any  communication  between  them  while 
in  the  examination  hall.  Three  sets  of  themes  are  given, 
each  occupying  two  days  and  a  night,  and,  until  that 
time  is  expired,  no  one  is  permitted  to  leave  his  allot- 
ted apartment,  and  no  attendants  are  allowed.  This 
is  to  teach  them  that  the  disciples  of  the  ancient  sages 
must  be  self-denying,  and  not  covet  the  good  things 
of  this  life.  The  essays  are  scrutinized  by  officers  ap- 
pointed for  that  duty,  to  know  if  they  conform  to 
the  regulations.  They  must  not  exceed  seven  hundred 
characters,  nor  contain  any  character  which  belongs  to 
the  name  of  Confucius,  Mencius,  or  any  emperor.  Nor 
must  there  be  any  character  written  over  the  ruled  red 
lines.     No  erasure  or  correction  of  any  kind  is  allowed. 


LITEKAKT     EXAMINATIONS.  341 

Essays  of  former  examinations  must  not  be  copied,  and 
any  obvious  fault  in  comiDosition  observed  by  the  officers 
who  superintend  this  department,  would  prevent  the  es- 
say from  being  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  examiners. 
The  eighteen  assistant  examiners  then  select  the  best 
essays,  to  the  number  of  two  or  three  hundred,  and  sub- 
ject them  to  the  examination  of  two  commissioners  from 
the  Imperial  Hanlin  College,  who  decide  which  are  the 
best,  and  arrange  the  names  in  the  order  of  merit.  The 
writer  of  the  first  is  called  Keae  Yuen,  the  first  to  be 
recommended  to  the  emperor.  In  granting  offices,  the 
emperor  follows  the  order  of  names  in  this  and  the  higher 
examinations. 

"  On  the  first  two  days  the  themes  are  taken  from  the 
four  books  with  a  fine  of  poetry ;  on  the  next  from  the 
five  classics,  one  from  each  ;  and  lastly  five  papers  of  mis- 
cellaneous questions  are  given.  To  answer  these  ques- 
tions, if  the  papers  before  us  are  to  be  taken  as  an  average 
example,  a  most  extensive  reading  in  general  Hterature 
must  be  expected  from  the  candidates  in  addition  to  their 
study  of  the  classical  books. 

"  The  first  of  these  paj^ers  takes  for  its  range  the  com- 
mentators on  the  classics ;  e.  (/.,  '  Choo-foo-tze,  in  com- 
menting on  the  Shoo  King,  made  use  of  four  authors — 
who  sometimes  say  too  much,  at  others  too  Httle  ;  some- 
times their  explanations  are  forced,  at  others,  too  orna- 
mental. What  have  you  to  observe  on  them  ?'  '  In 
the  Han  dynasty  there  were  three  commentators  on  the 
Yile  King,  whose  explanations  and  divisions  into  chapters 
and  sentences  were  all  diflerent.  Can  you  give  an  account 
of  them  ?'  '  Under  our  present  sacred  dynasty,  litera- 
ture and  learning  are  in  a  most  flourishing  state.  You, 
candidates,  have  been  studying  for  several  years.  Let 
each  of  you  make  use  of  what  he  knows,  and  reply  to 
these  questions.' 


842  IN    CHINA. 

"  The  second  paper  has  for  its  subject  histories,  inviting 
a  criticism  from  tlie  candidate  on  the  historical  works  of 
eacli  dynasty  in  succession  from  Sze  ma,  the  Herodotus  of 
China,  do^v^Iwards  to  the  Ming  emperors.  It  is  obvious 
that  the  examination  can  be  no  child's  j^lay  when  such 
comprehensive  questions  as  these  form  a  part  of  it  : — 
'  Sze  ma,  in  making  lus  history,  took  the  classical  books 
and  ancient  records,  and  arranged  the  facts  they  detailed. 
Some  have  accused  him  of  unduly  exalting  Taourists,  and 
thinking  too  highly  of  wealth  and  power.  Pan  koo,  a 
writer  of  the  Han  dynasty,  is  clear  and  comprehensive, 
but  on  astronomy  and  the  five  elements  he  has  written 
more  than  enough.  Can  you  give  examples  and  proofs 
of  these  statements  ?'  '  Ch'in-show  had  admirable  abili- 
ties for  historical  writing.  In  his  Three  Kingdoms  he 
has  depreciated  Choo-ko-leang,  and  made  very  light  of 
E.  and  E.,  two  other  celebrated  characters.  What  is  it 
that  be  says  of  them  ?' 

"  The  third  paper  questions  the  candidates  on  the  an- 
cient and  modern  di^-isions  of  the  empire.  They  are 
required  to  state  the  authorities  who  record  the  earliest 
division  into  nine  provinces,  the  changes  which  followed, 
and  the  discrepancies  between  the  different  authors  in 
their  accounts  of  them ;  then  the  changes  that  occurred 
under  more  recent  dynasties,  in  the  number,  designations 
and  mode  of  government  of  the  provinces,  are  asked  for. 
It  is  then  added  that  the  size  of  the  emj^ire  having  much 
increased  beyond  what  it  was  in  former  times,  diligent 
study  ought  to  be  bestowed  on  geography,  and  the  can- 
didates are  invited,  accordingly,  not  to  conceal  their 
knowledge,  but  state  all  they  can. 

"  The  next  is  on  books.  The  candidates  are  required 
to  relate  where  the  existing  accounts  of  certain  lost  books 
of  high  antiquity  are  found,  and  what  empei'ors  have 
made  efforts  to  preserve  books  and  to  form  libraries.     It 


SEU-KWAiSTG-KE.  343 

is  asked  :  '  The  Seuj  dynasty  collected  books  to  the  num- 
ber of  three  hundred  and  seventy  thousand.  These  were 
reduced  by  selection  to  thirty-seven  thousand.  Where 
was  the  Ubrary  in  which  they  were  kept,  and  who  per- 
formed the  task  of  selection  ?'  Questions  are  also  asked 
on  what  catalogues  of  books  have  been  made,  and  the 
method  of  classifying  them  that  have  been  employed. 
The  last  paper  is  on  the  history  of  the  water-courses  and 
flood-gates  in  the  eastern  parts  of  this  province  (Keang 
Xan).  It  begins  with  the  Emperor  Ta  Yu's  hydraulic 
achievements,  and  asks  for  an  account  of  the  early  names 
of  this  region.  It  then  inquires  why  it  is  that  the  Woo- 
sung  Keang  is  so  beneficial  to  the  neighboring  depart- 
ments by  aifording  an  outlet  to  the  waters  of  the  Tae  Hoo. 
At  the  close  it  is  added  :  '  Our  emperor  is  always  seeking 
to  promote  the  people's  good.  You,  who  are  inhabitants 
of  this  province,  ought  to  be  fully  informed  on  the  subject 
of  its  water  communications.  Isow  show  your  knowledge, 
that  there  may  be  proof  of  your  fitness  to  be  presented 
to  the  emperor.'  " 

Such  being  the  rigid  character  of  the  literary  acquire- 
ments which  are  essential  to  influence  and  political  posi- 
tion in  China,  can  the  Uterary  men  of  western  nations 
wonder  that  they  look  with  qontempt  upon  nations  whom, 
until  recently,  they  have  known  chiefly  through  the  ac- 
quaintanceship of  commerce  ? 

An  elaborately-carved  stone  portal,  which  stands  about 
the  centre  of  the  city  of  Shanghae,  will  be  sought  out  by 
the  seeker  after  celebrities  and  antiquities,  for  it  is  the 
moimment  of  Seu-kwang-ke.  He  was  born  in  this  city 
about  three  hundred  years  ago,  and  the  city  may  well 
pride  herself  upon  being  the  birth-place  of  so  distinguished 
a  man. 

Graduating  as  Keu-Jin  (master  of  arts)  in  1598,  and 
being  at  the  head  of  the  list,  he  ran  a  successful  literary 


344  IN     CIIIXA. 

and  political  career,  receiving,  seven  yeai-s  after  the 
degree  of  M.  A.,  that  of  Doctor,  at  the  same  time  with 
his  former  preceptor. 

He  produced  several  works,  with  the  following  titles : 
"College  Lessons  for  the  year  1604;"  "Sen's  Chit- 
Chat ;"  "  Six  Memoirs  on  the  Book  of  Odes,"  in  fourteen 
volumes : 

1.  An  Investigation  of  Objects. 

2.  An  Elucidation  of  History. 

3.  An  Exploration  of  Antiquities. 

4.  An  Amplification  of  the  Meaning. 

5.  A  Selection  of  Beauties. 

6.  The  Correct  Sounds. 

I  give  these  subjects  as  a  key  to  the  character  of  Seu's 
mind.  The  appointment  of  "  Honorary  Member  of  the 
Institute"  being  oflered  to  his  preceptor,  Hwang  Te  Jin, 
he  declined,  on  account  of  advanced  age,  and  recommend- 
ed Sen,  who  received  the  honor.  In  succession  he 
reached  the  places  of  "  Examiner  of  the  National  Insti- 
tute," "  Minister  of  the  Household,"  and  "  Assistant  to  the 
Board  of  Rites." 

The  Chinese  scholar  and  statesman,  Sen,  became  the 
Roman  Catholic  Paul,  under  the  influence  and  teaching 
of  the  Jesuit  missionary,  Rjcci,  who  reached  Pekin  in 
1601,  and  attained  to  high  influence  and  favor.  Drawing 
from  such  sources  of  information  as  presented  themselves 
to  him,  and  enriching  his  facts  by  the  fertihty  of  his  own 
mind.  Sen  brought  forth,  as  the  fruit  of  his  intellectual 
intercourse  with  Ricci,  works  on  "Militaiy  Tactics," 
"Agriculture  by  the  Military,"  "The  Salt  Revenue," 
"  Hydraulics,"  "  A  Disquisition  on  Canals  and  Rivers," 
"  On  European  Hydraulics,"  "  The  Proper  Rules  for  Til- 
lage," "  Miscellaneous  Records  on  Husbandry,"  etc.  Sen 
and  Ricci  jointly  produced  a  translation  of  the  first  six 
books  of  the  Elements  of  Euclid's  Geometry. 


SEU-KWANG-KE.  345 

The  following  are  some  of  the  remarks  of  Sen,  which 
accompanied  the  issue  of  the  work  : 

'  "  This  is  a  book  of  the  most  extensive  utiUty,  and,  at 
the  present  time,  it  is  one  of  the  highest  importance.  As 
soon  as  I  had  finished  the  translation,  I,  together  with  a 
friend,  got  it  jirinted  and  published.  Mr.  Ricci,  who  had 
written  an  introduction,  was  exceedingly  delighted  at  the 
rapidity  of  the  jDublication,  and  was  sanguine  in  his  hopes 
that  it  might  be  generally  studied ;  but  there  are  very 
few  that  give  their  attention  to  this  subject.  I  conceive 
that  a  hundred  years  after  this  it  will  become  a  popular 
study,  and  then  people  will  wonder  how  the  subject  has 
been  so  long  neglected.  There  are  some  who,  on  first 
looking  at  this  work,  fancy  it  very  abstruse  and  diflicult 
to  be  understood,  and  say  that  I  ought  to  have  explained 
every  paragraph  and  sentence.  To  which  I  reply :  the 
principles  of  geometry  and  arithmetic  are,  in  themselves, 
altogether  free  from  mystery ;  and,  as  to  the  terms  em- 
ployed, if  you  duly  exercise  your  minds  upon  them,  you 
will  soon  find  them  become  extremely  clear  and  intelligi- 
ble ;  but,  if  the  thinking  powers  are  not  brought  to  bear 
on  the  subject,  certainly  it  will  appear  mysteriously  pro- 
found. Suppose  a  person  finds  himself  surrounded  on  all 
sides  by  hills,  not  knowing  in  which  direction  to  look  for 
the  road,  he  walks  on  till  ho  comes  to  a  footpath,  and, 
following  it,  finds  the  right  course.  So,  let  any  one  apply 
himself  for  ten  days  to  the  task,  and  he  will  be  able  to 
understand  the  whole  from  beginning  to  end ;  and  every 
sentence  and  exiircssion  will  ajipear  extremely  plain  and 
clear." 

One  may  bo  excused  for  quoting  these  sentiments  of  a 
Chinese  scholar  of  three  centuries  ago,  as  well  on  account 
of  their  source  as  of  their  practical  wisdom. 

After  this,  Seu  produced  several  other  mathematical 
15* 


346  IN     CHINA. 

works,  correcting  the  errors  of  former  works ;  and  mani- 
festing great  intellectual  activity  and  industry. 

But  a  man  so  able  and  eminent  maintaining  and  leading 
into  influence  a  religion  diflering  from  that  of  those  with 
whom  he  was  associated,  necessarily  incurred  the  enmity 
of  his  rivals  in  literature,  and  his  opponents  in  religion. 
These  influences  having  free  course  by  the  i-emoval  of  his 
imperial  patron  from  life,  Sen,  and  the  foreign  Christians 
whom  he  had  protected,  fell  into  discredit  and  under  per- 
secution. At  this  time,  however,  the  Manchu  power  was 
threatening  the  native  dynasty,  and  Sen,  with  the  soul  of 
true  greatness,  and  the  sjiirit  of  a  patriot,  brought  his 
military  science  and  his  personal  efibrts  to  the  support  of 
the  jiower  which  had  been  hostile  to  him.  His  value  was 
too  great  to  be  neglected,  and,  once  more,  he  reached  a 
position  of  influence  in  the  emjDire,  carrying  with  him  his 
foreign  Christian  associates.  He  was  now  appointed 
"High  Chancellor  of  the  Eastern  Cabinet,"  and  admitted 
to  the  private  councils  of  his  emperor,  being  also  oflicially 
a  member  of  the  "  Privy  Council,"  and  "  Guardian  to  the 
Prince  Royal." 

His  great  work  is,  sc  "  New  System  of  Arithmetic,"  in 
one  hundred  volumes.  Seu-kwang-ke  closed  his  active  life 
of  more  than  seventy  years,  in  October,  1633,  and  his  re- 
mains now  lie  entombed  near  his  native  city  of  Shanghae. 

He  died  rich  in  reputation  and  virtue,  but  poor  in  gold. 
It  was  represented  to  the  emperor  by  one  of  the  censors 
that,  "  In  his  zeal  for  the  service  of  his  country,  Seu  had 
omitted  to  make  any  provision  for  his  family;  and,  having 
acted  thus  disinterestedly  with  regard  to  the  emoluments 
of  his  office,  if  his  imperial  highness  would  now  signalize 
his  approbation  by  a  display  of  his  munificence  towards 
the  surviving  members  of  the  family,  such  an  act  would 
go  far  to  discountenance  and  put  to  shame  those  who 
grasped  at  public  office,  merely  for  the  opportunity  of 


SEU-KWANG-KE.  347 

subserving  their  private  views  and  raterests" — a  sentiment 
which  it  would  be  well  for  some  more  modern  countries 
to  ajDply  to  their  official  policy,  instead  of  basing  it  upon 
the  experiment  of  making  "  empty  sacks  stand  ujiright." 

The  emperor  approved  of  the  request,  and  had  it  car- 
ried into  eifect,  also  conferring  on  Seu  the  posthumous 
titles  of  "Pillar  of  the  State,"  and  of  "  Secondary  Guai"- 
dian." 

The  edict  appointing  posthumous  honor  to  the  deceased, 
commences  in  the  following  language : 

"  The  flowers  (smoke)  ascend  from  the  gem-eared  vase, 
while  the  goblets  and  dishes  are  rejjlenished.  In  distin- 
guishing you  by  the  gift  of  this  feUcitous  casket,  I  would 
diffuse  the  knowledge  of  your  reverential  and  illustrious 
merit.  I,  having  received  your  three-fold  counsels,  have 
rejoiced  to  behold  thereby  the  people  refreshed,  as  the 
earth  with  the  showers  of  spiing.  Thus  your  meritorious 
aptitude  for  every  dej^artment  of  government  might  be 
traced  in  the  purity  of  your  conduct  while  occupying  the 
privy  councillor's  station.  Looking  upon  the  fidelity  of 
your  service  towards  me,  I  now  grant  you  these  honors." 

The  ancestral  chapel  stands  on  the  site  of  the  ancient 
residence  of  the  Seu  family,  in  the  city  of  Shanghae.  It 
contains  the  effigy  of  Seu,  wearing  the  robes  of  the  Ming 
dynasty.  On  the  right  is  the  inscrij^tion  :  "  In  the  use  of 
numbers,  and  the  elucidation  of  husbandry,  the  teacher 
of  a  hundred  generations  could  span  the  heavens  and  em- 
brace the  earth."  On  the  left :  "  Abroad,  a  general — at 
home,  a  privy  councillor ;  the  same  minister  was  a  coura- 
geous warrior  and  a  skillful  politician." 

The  Chinese  are  by  no  means  sparing  of  their  honors 
to  distinguished  women.  Among  the  carved  granite  jior- 
tals  which  are  seen  through  the  country,  are  many  to 
virtuous  women,  nnd  among  tlie  virtues  most  entitling  to 
such  a  distinction,  is  that  of  having  lived  faithful  to  the 


348  IN     CHINA. 

obligations  of  a  first  raarriagc.  The  family  of  the  noble 
Sen,  and  that  branch  of  it  which  belongs  to  the  city  of 
Shanghac,  is  rich  in  these  virtuoiis  women. 

When,  nearly  three  hundred  years  ago,  Seu  bowed  be- 
fore the  baptismal  font,  joined  with  him  in  the  holy  rite 
was  his  grand-daughter,  Candida.  Being  left  a  widow, 
and  having  set  aside  the  matrimonial  portions  of  her 
eight  children,  she  devoted  the  remainder  of  her  fortune 
to  building  churches,  to  the  dissemination  of  Chx-istianity. 
She  built  a  foundling  hospital,  and  a  college  for  the  edu- 
cation of  a  native  ministry.  The  emperor  conferred  upon 
her  a  noble  title,  and  presented  her  with  a  costly  robe, 
which  she  sold  for  the  purposes  of  charity.  One  great- 
grand-daughter  earned  celebrity  by  living  a  widow  forty- 
one  years  from  her  fifteenth  year.  Another  great-grand- 
daughter, Seusze,  accomplished  in  arts  and  literature, 
upon  the  death  of  her  husband,  also  devoted  to  literature, 
abandoned  these  pursuits,  devoted  herself  to  spinning, 
weaving,  and  frugality,  dying  after  fifty-three  years  of 
widowhood.  The  wife  of  a  great-grand-son  of  Seu^ 
Kwang-ke,  took  a  vow  of  widowhood,  devoted  herself  to 
her  son  and  her  husband's  mother,  and  lived  a  widow  for 
more  than  forty  years,  earning  for  herself  the  title  of  "an 
inimitable  pattern  of  constancy  and  filial  piety." 

Seven  other  ladies  of  this  great  family,  coming  down  to 
the  wife  of  the  great-great-grand-son  of  the  grand-son  of 
Kwang-lce,  were  celebrated  in  the  annals  of  Shanghae  for 
the  longevity  of  their  wddowhood,  secondary  wives  joining 
with  primary  in  earning  this  honor. 

The  facts  of  the  foregoing  short  biography  of  the  great 
privy  councillor,  embody  many  interesting  points  of  Chi- 
nese history,  and  suggest  many  interesting  reflections 
upon  the  fluctuating  fate  of  Christianity  in  this  emijire. 
They  present,  too,  an  insight  into  the  capacity  of  the 
Chinese  mind  for  scientific  investigation.     That  a  higher 


ISRAEL     IN     CHINA.  340 

national  cultivation  has  not,  in  the  course  of  so  much  time, 
resulted  from  the  influence  of  such  a  man,  may  be,  at  least 
in  part,  attributed  to  the  fatal  union  of  knowledge  and  sci- 
entific truth  with  a  false,  a  worldly  and  ambitious  sectari- 
anism. Had  Sen  been  made  an  humble  Christian,  and  de- 
voted his  capacities  to  the  true  mode  of  extendmg  divine 
truth  alone,  Christianity  might  now  have  been  the  religion 
of  the  empire.  Had  he  been  solely  scientific,  and  still  a 
pagan,  science,  and  foreign  men  of  science,  not  having  the 
hostility  of  opposing  religion  to  contend  with,  might  have 
been  more  progressive. 

But  more  ancient  than  the  associations  of  the  privy 
councillor's  gateway — more  ancient  than  Christianity  in 
China,  than  Christianity  itself,  are  the  records  of  God's 
ancient  peoj)le  in  the  Chinese  empire. 

"  And  behold  these  from  the  land  of  Sinim."*  Who  is 
it  that  is  to  come  from  the  land  of  Sinim,  and  where  is 
that  land?  Some  learned  investigators  conclude  that  the 
vast  territory  of  China  is  the  land  alluded  to.  If  so,  are 
there  any  of  the  chosen  people — the  ancient  people  mth 
whom  God  held  communion,  in  that  land  ^  Has  the  word 
spoken  by  His  prophets  been  carried  there  save  by  Chris- 
tian messengers  ?  These  interrogatories  facts  answer  in 
the  affirmative. 

A  people  winning  for  themselves  tablets  of  honor, 
and  eminent  Chinese  mandarins  and  statesnien  coming 
out  from  that  people,  are  among  the  established  marvels 
of  the  Chinese  empire,  and  yet  this  people,  and  those 
statesmen  and  nobles,  were  Israelites — but  an  offshoot  of 
the  nation  to  whom  the  one  God  committed  His  word  and 
law,  so  early  in  its  history  as  to  be  ignorant  of  the  Jewish 
title  and  of  the  history  of  Christ. 

Soon  after  the  establishment  of  Roman  Catholic  mis- 
sionaries in  China,  more  than   two  centuries  ago,  they 
*  Tsniali,  xlix'.  12. 


350  IN"     CHINA. 

■were  siirjjrisccl  by  the  fact,  that  in  the  interior  of  that 
country  there  had  been  existing,  from  a  very  early  period,  a 
sect,  which,  having  heard  of  the  newcomers,  claimed  iden- 
tity of  religion  with  them.  It  was  known  as  the  sect  "  Teaou 
Kin  Keaou,"  "  the  sect  that  plucks  out  the  sinew." 

Such  investigation  as  these  missionaries  made  at  the 
time,  though  it  was  very  imperfect,  ascertained  the  exist- 
ence of  several  Hebrew  synagogues — one  at  Ilang-chow- 
foo,  one  at  Nankin,  and  one  at  Kae-fung-foo.  None  of 
these  are  now  known  to  exist,  except  that  at  Kae-fung-foo, 
in  the  province  of  Honan,  two  hundred  miles  from  Pekin. 
The  difficulties  of  penetrating  to  this  place,  by  those  com- 
petent to  correct  observation  and  investigation,  have  been 
so  great  that  our  information  is  not  proportioned  to  the 
interest  of  the  subject. 

Some  of  the  modern  Protestant  missions  have  sent  out 
Christian  Chinese  to  collect  information  respecting  these 
Israelites.  Many  obstacles  lay  in  theii*  path,  but  they  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  Kae-fung-foo,  keeping  a  detailed  ac- 
count of  their  journey. 

They  represent  the  community  as  consisting  of  but 
a  few  families,  and  these  in  a  very  decayed  condition, 
though  the  evidence  of  the  past  honorable  position  of  the 
community,  and  the  distinguished  character  of  some  of 
its  members  still  remained.  No  sufficient  data  have  yet 
been  reached  to  determine  at  what  period  these  Jews 
entered  China,  but  enough  to  establish  that  it  must  have 
been  long  before  the  Christian  era ;  and  the  supposition 
is  that  the  high  tone  and  the  pure  morality  of  the  Con- 
fucian phDosophy  is  but  a  gleam  from  the  burning  bush 
on  Mount  Sinai.  But  at  Kae-fung-foo  was  found  in  the 
noble  old  Hebrew  character,  word  for  word,  and  letter 
for  letter,  book  for  book,  the  same  divine  record  and  law 
which  is  the  foundation  of  our  national  existence  and 
prosperity.     In  the  synagogue,  over  a  tablet  containing 


MAEEIAGE    AXD     FUNERAL     DEBATE.        351 

the  name  of  the  Emperor  of  China,  is  written,  in  Hebrew 
letters  of  gold, 

"Hear,  0  Israel: 
The  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord ; 

Blessed  be  the  Xame 
Of  the  Glorj  of  His  Kingdom, 
For  ever  and  ever." 

After  this,  ou  a  triple  arch,  was  the  following  inscrip- 
tion Iq  Hebrew : 

"Blessed  be  the  Lord  our  God ; 

The  Lord  is  God  of  Gods,  and  the  Lord 

A  great  God,  strong  and  terrible." 

In  separate  tents,  in  the  "  House  of  Heaven,"  each  en- 
closed by  silken  curtains,  were  twelve  rolls  of  the  law, 
and  a  central  tent,  in  honor  of  Moses.  On  the  extreme 
western  walls,  in  golden  Hebrew  letters,  were  the  tables 
of  the  Ten  Commandments. 

The  new  treaty  may,  perhaps,  afibrd  greater  facilities 
for  investigating  this  interesting  subject. 


XXVIII. 

MARRIAGE  AND  FUNERAL  DEBATE. 

0]sr  a  certain  Monday  evening,  by  the  thoughtful  wo- 
manly kindness  of  my  friend,  Miss  Fay,  I  received  an  in- 
vitation to  attend  a  missionary  meeting,  at  which  was  to 
be  discussed  the  duty  of  Christian  ministers  in  relation  to 
the  estabUshed  customs  of  the  Chinese  in  their  marriage 
and  funeral  ceremonies  ;  that  is,  how  far  a  conformity  to 
the  usages  was  to  be  permitted  or  countenanced  in  Chi- 
nese converts — a  most  interesting  subject.     When  I  en- 


352  ,  I  X    c  II  1  X  A . 

tered  the  room,  I  found  there,  English,  Scotch  and  Ameii- 
can  missionaries,  with  their  families,  and  the  ladies  of  their 
respective  missions.  There  Avere  English  Episcopalians, 
and  American  Episcopalians,  Presbyterians,  Congrega- 
tionalists,  Methodists,  and  Sabbatarians.  With  several  of 
these  it  had  been  my  honor  and  my  happiness  to  mingle 
in  the  Christian  refinement  and  unostentatious  hospitality 
of  their  own  families.  Here  I  was,  face  to  face,  with  the 
whole  body  of  men  whom  some  of  the  silk  and  tea  buyers, 
and  opium  smugglers,  had  described  to  me  as  an  ignorant 
set  of  adventurers  who  came  out  on  the  missionary  business 
because  they  could  not  earn  their  bread  at  home ;  and  who 
were  so  miserably  poor,  they  were  glad  to  wear  the  cast- 
off  clothes  of  these  same  silk  and  tea  traders,  and  oj^ium 
smugglers.  Consistency  did  not  foi'bid  that  the  next 
speaker  should  add  to  this  contempt  a  severe  censure  of 
the  wealth,  and  ease  and  luxury  in  which  these  same  mis- 
sionaries lived.  In  other  lands  I  had  met  missionaries, 
and  I  had  found  them  generally  a  sincere,  earnest  band, 
faithfully  trusting  in  the  Lord,  in  His  own  time  to  do 
His  own  work,  provided  they  obeyed  His  commands, 
not  discouraged  by  the  httle  apparent  progress  they 
made.  I  had  found  many  of  these  men  learned  con- 
tributors to  scientific,  ethnological  and  philological  re- 
searches ;  and  disptlaying  in  their  vocation  a  physical  and 
moral  courage  which  placed  them  in  the  rank  of  the 
noblest  heroism.  In  all  foreign  lands  I  had  heretofore 
foimd  them,  with  very  few  exceptions,  the  best  sijeci- 
mens  of  their  respective  countries,  in  education,  in  gen- 
uine refinement,  and  in  all  the  amenities  which  grow^  out 
of  cultivation. 

'Tis  true,  and  ought  to  be  admitted,  their  dress  is  some- 
times ungainly — their  shirt-collars  not  of  the  most  fash- 
ionable cut ;  and  few  of  the  commercial  lordlings  who 
despise  them  would  be  willing  to  admit  they  had  ever 


MARRIAGE     AXD     FUNERAL     DEBATE.      353 

honored  by  their  persons  the  particular  style  of  garment 
with  which  the  missionary  thinks  himself  sufficiently  well 
clad.  Representations  will  have  their  effect  upon  the 
mind,  and  I  have  felt  a  painful  regret,  in  hearing  mission- 
aries spoken  of  with  contempt,  that  the  Lord  should  have 
j)ermitted  such  unworthy  men  to  go  forth  as  the  ambas- 
sadors of  the  Bible.  I  could  not  reconcile  it  with  His 
purposes.  At  this  time  I  had  met  but  two  or  three  of 
the  missionary  band,  and  upon  venturing  to  suggest  that 
these  gentlemen  seemed  superior  to  the  oj^inions  ex- 
pressed of  their  class,  it  was  admitted  they  were  excep- 
tions ;  and  those  who  were  not  exceptions  I  found  were 
mainly  known  to  their  judges  by  their  gait,  their  garb, 
and  the  contemptible  fact  of  being  wanting  in  wealth, 
which,  however,  was  a  common  crime  in  the  set.  Here 
I  was  face  to  face  with  all  of  them — a  thoughtful,  earnest, 
sensible-looking  body  of  men,  and  withal  clothed  like  de- 
cent gentlemen.  Notwithstanding  my  acquaintance  with, 
and  respect  for  a  few  of  the  body,  I  confess  I  was  as- 
tonished by  the  dignity  of  the  meeting,  and  the  re- 
spectability of  the  audience.  Several  distinguished  British 
officer?  were  present  as  auditors.  Tliere  were  other  con- 
versational charges  brought  against  these  missionaries, 
such  as  spending  the  money  contributed  by  widows  and 
orphans  for  their  own  private  use  and  enjoyment.  "  Judge 
not,  lest  ye  be  judged,"  may  be  interpreted.  Judge  not, 
lest  ye  judge  yourselves.  I  ventured  to  suggest  that  as 
missionary  boards  and  the  sources  of  financial  means  Avere 
generally,  if  not  invariably,  composed  of  shrewd,  intelli- 
gent, practical  business  men,  who  had  established  a  close 
system  of  accountability,  and  whose  interests  were  opposed 
to  the  extravagance  of  their  foreign  servants,  such  a  lati- 
tude as  those  charges  implied  seemed  scarcely  possible.  I 
must,  however,  say  that  the  very  detractors  of  mission- 
aries would  sometimes,  in  the  chances  of  conversation, 


354  IN    CHINA. 

speak  of  the  self-denial  aud  disinterestedness  of  individual 
cases  ;  but  the  prejudices  of  class,  and  the  misconceptions 
of  ignorance  and  prejudice,  were  too  strong  for  any  com- 
passing cloud  of  witnesses  to  remove. 

The  evening  discussion  was  opened  by  a  most  able  essay 
upon  Chinese  marriage  and  funeral  ceremonies,  read  by 
the  author,  the  Rev.  Mr,  Syle,  of  the  American  P^piscopal 
mission.  The  essay  took  the  ground,  if  I  remember  cor- 
rectly, that  their  Chinese  converts  might  be  permitted  to 
retain  their  national  customs,  so  far  as  they  were  not  as- 
sociated with  idolatry,  astrology  and  superstition.  The 
discussion  took  a  wide  range,  involving  exjDcdiency,  duty, 
practicabiHty  and  taste.  It  was  generally  participated 
in  by  all  the  sects,  with  much  difference  of  opinion  main- 
tained with  Christian  forbearance,  and  enlivened  by  wit 
and  humor  which  shook  the  stiffness  out  of  the  most  rigid 
features.  Whatever  view  of  the  subject  was  taken,  every 
debater  admitted  that  it  was  surrounded  with  great  diffi- 
culties, and  no  one,  whatever  his  tendencies,  seemed  dis- 
posed to  a  positive  and  dogmatic  opinion.  In  brief,  the 
essential  incidents  of  a  Chinese  marriage  seemed  to  be,  in 
many  cases,  if  not  in  most,  1st,  the  betrothal  of  the  parties 
by  their  parents  and  guardians  in  their  infancy,  and  some- 
times before  birth,  and  the  obligation  of  the  young  peo- 
ple to  fulfill  this  engagement ;  2d,  the  essential  employ- 
ment of  systematic  negotiators  or  go-betweens,  mei-jin, 
whose  office  seems  to  have  a  wider  range  than  that  which 
is  apparent,  and  may  be  connected  with  some  superstitious 
association  ;  3d,  the  "  Pasil,"  or  giving  of  eight  chai-ac- 
ters  indicating  the  exact  hour  of  the  bride's  birth,  day, 
month,  etc,  this  being  for  the  use  of  the  astrologer  to 
determine  whether  the  marriage  is  to  be  a  lucky  or  un- 
lucky one.  If  the  magician  determines  the  latter,  no 
further  proceedings  are  entered  upon  ;  4th,  exchange  of 
presents,  the  decorated  bridal  chair,  the  vailing  of  the 


MARRIAGE     AND     FUNERAL     DEBATE.      3oo 

bride  in  a  crimson  vail,  pledging  each  other  in  a  wine 
cup,  worshiping  each  other,  and  the  bride  worshiping  the 
shades  of  the  ancestors  of  her  husband. 

The  great  difficulty,  and  that  upon  which  there  was 
the  greatest  discussion,  was  the  nature  and  obligation 
of  the  betrothal  contract — how  far  were  the  Christian 
ministry  justified  in  insisting  upon  their  converts  dissolv- 
ing such  contracts  made  for  them  without  their  consent, 
especially  when  the  fulfillment  of  the  contract  united  the 
new  Christian  by  such  influential  ties  to  an  unconverted 
heathen  ?  It  was  generally  admitted,  but  not  by  all,  that 
there  was  no  question  as  to  the  impropriety  of  all  such 
contracts  made  after  a  profession  of  Christianity.  Some 
contended  that  even  this  liberty  should  be  allowed,  as  in 
Christian  lands  the  professing  Christian  is  united  to  one 
who  is  not  such. 

The  precept,  "  Be  ye  not  unequally  yoked,"  was  taken 
as  the  ground  of  those  who  opposed  all  consent  to  the 
union  of  Christians  and  heathens.  Then  arose  the  ques- 
tion how  far  the  betrothal  contract  is  a  soluble  one  ;  was 
it  not,  according  to  Chinese  law  and  Chinese  usage,  a  vu'- 
tual  marriage,  and  only  to  be  set  aside  by  divorce?  or 
was  it,  as  such  engagements  with  us,  open  to  the  caprice 
of  either  party,  under  the  penalty  of  fine  ? 

That  the  betrothal  contract  could  not  be  violated  with- 
out penalty,  and  that  authority  could  restrict  the  parties 
from  other  contracts,  was  admitted.  Still,  the  questions 
presented  themselves,  were  there  not  usages  and  moral 
obligations  stronger  than  law  which  required  the  Chinese 
Christian  to  fulfill  his  contract  ?  \Yere  there  not  obligations, 
under  Chinese  usage,  to  parents,  wliich  could  not  be  set 
aside  ?  Several  cases  Avcre  narrated,  which  showed  the 
great  difficulties  surrounding  this  subject.  Dr.  Ilobson, 
of  Canton,  when  Canton  was,  related  the  case  of  a  Chris- 
tian daughter  of  a  Christian  Chinaman,  who  had  been  be- 


856  IN    CHINA. 

trothecl  to  a  lieathen — I  presume,  before  the  conversion  of 
her  parents.  Tlie  young  man  chvimecl  the  fulfillment  of 
the  contract.  The  i)arents  were  distressed  by  the  obliga- 
tion of  fulfilling  the  contract,  and  knew  that  their  daugh- 
ter could  not  be  happy  in  her  inconsistent  relation.  Their 
friends,  among  the  missionaries,  were  also  anxious  upon 
the  subject,  and  were  willing  to  contribute  any  amount  of 
money  to  have  her  released  from  the  necessity.  All  the 
parties  were  poor,  but  the  father  said  that,  feai-ful  as  it 
was  to  him,  the  thing  must  go  on — no  amount  of  money 
could  release  them  from  the  obligation. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Yates,  of  the  Methodist  Church,  who 
seemed  to  be  very  familiar  with  Chinese  usages,  stated 
that  if  the  husband,  when  he  first  saw  the  bride  to  whom 
he  had  been  betrothed  in  her  infancy  and  his  own,  found 
her  blind,  or  deformed,  still  he  was  not  at  liberty  to  end 
the  contract.  He  must  live  single  while  she  lives,  and,  I 
think  he  said,  must  support  her. 

Dr.  "Wentworth,  also  of  the  Methodist  Church,  of  Su- 
chau,  narrated  a  case  now  giving  them  some  anxiety.  A 
young  man  who  had  professed  Christianity,  who  had  been 
in  the  United  States,  who  was  living  a  reputable  and 
prosperous  life,  had  made  recently  a  marriage  contract 
with  an  unconverted  woman,  and  for  this,  the  Church 
with  which  he  had  been  in  connection  had  cut  him  off. 
He  had  brought  his  certificate  of  baptism  and  of  church 
membership  to  the  Methodists,  and  asked  them  to  receive 
him.  He  assured  them  that  when  married,  and  his  wife 
came  under  his  influence,  he  would  place  her  in  prepara- 
tion for  becoming  a  Christian. 

These  cases  show  the  great  difficulty  attending  this  sub- 
iect ;  and  to  aj^preciate  its  extent  one  has  only  to  think  for 
a  moment  of  the  j^ower  of  national  usages  and  customs. 
A  Chinese  family  would  not  so  much  object  to  any  of  its 
members  becoming  Christians,  for  they  rather  appreciate 


MAEKIAGE     AXD     FUNERAL     DEBATE,      357 

the  purity  and  spirituality  of  the  religiou,  if  the  fact  did 
not  involve  a  departure  from  national  usages. 

The  next  part  of  the  ceremonies  which  elicited  a  re- 
mark, was  the  "pasO,"  the  giving  the  exact  hour  of  birth. 
The  objection  to  this  was  its  astrological  use — the  fact 
in  itself  having  no  significance ;  and  hence  some  saw  no 
objection  to  the  fact,  unless  improperly  used.  All  the 
ceremonies  of  worshiping  each  other,  ancestry,  gods  of 
the  household,  were,  of  course,  to  be  rejected  as  idola- 
tries. But  there  was  a  diiference  of  opinion  upon  these 
subjects,  some  contending  that  there  was  really  no  act  of 
worship,  but  only  a  conventional  courtesy. 

It  was  curious  to  observe  the  wide  range  of  opinion 
upon  the  latitude  which  should  be  given  to  the  associa- 
tion between  the  sexes.  While  some  seemed  to  think 
that  one  of  the  great  elements  of  western  civilization  lay 
in  the  privilege  of  "  courting,"  and  the  right  of  '•  private 
judgment"  m  matrimonial  matters,  one  of  the  most 
strong-minded  and  clear-headed  participants  of  the  dis- 
cussion contended  for  all  the  reserve  of  the  East  in  re- 
gard to  females,  from  the  hour  of  birth  to  the  red  vail  of 
the  bridal ;  and  advanced  the  doctrine,  that  a  judicious 
selection  of  all  the  circumstances  which  should  determine 
a  marriage,  would  be  as  conducive  to  happiness,  would 
be  as  likely  to  be  followed  by  a  permanent  and  abiding 
love  between  parties  heretofore  unknown  to  each  other, 
as  though  the  union  had  been  the  result  of  a  preexisting 
and  impulsive  passion.  When  the  many  unhappy  love- 
matches  which  mar  the  matrimonial  relation  are  compared 
with  the  sober  satisfaction  of  those  which  have  been  ar- 
ranged for  the  parties,  this  gentleman's  opinion  Avould  not 
seem  to  be  so  heterodox.  It  may  be  significant  that  the 
advocate  of  the  largest  freedom  of  courtship  was  an 
American,  and  that  he  who  contended  for  reserve  and 
arrangement  was  a  Scot. 


358  IN     CHINA. 

The  subject,  involved  the  usual  conflict  between  duty 
and  expediency.  I  do  not  feel  justified  in  asking  any  as- 
sent to  my  own  uninstructed  opinion  upon  this  complicate 
question  ;  but  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  whole  of  it  might 
be  very  simply  solved,  as  far  as  missionary  duty  was  con- 
cerned. Teach  heart,  not  formal  Christianity,  and  its 
duties  and  responsibilities  ;  and  let  conformity  to  all  na- 
tional customs  be  a*  the  judgment  of  the  individual.  Let 
him  fulfill  his  betrothal  contract,  and  if  it  leads  his  com- 
panion to  the  Christian  communion,  it  is  well ;  if  she  leads 
him  into  paganism,  then  let  him  abide  the  consequences  of 
his  error.  Let  him  receive  the  pasil  as  a  ceremony  ;  but 
if  he  makes  a  superstitious  and  astrological  use  of  it,  then 
he  has  failed  in  his  Christianity,  and  he  must  be  cut  off. 
Many  of  the  necessary  employments  and  avocations  of  life 
tend  to  tempt  the  Christian  from  his  duties,  and  to  hea- 
thenize him  ;  a  sea-faring  life,  a  military  one — trade  itself 
— ^indeed  all  external  life,  has  a  deteriorating  tendency, 
and  much  of  the  argument  against  engaging  in  Chinese 
marriage  may  be  brought  against  engaging  in  these  pur- 
suits; and  if  not  armed  against  these  temptations,  the 
Christian  is  not  properly  armed. 

Very  few  remarks  were  made  ujjon  the  subject  of 
funerals,  as  it  was  generally  admitted  the  Chinese  did  not 
object  to  our  external  mode  of  burial;  and  as  most  that 
was  connected  with  theirs  was  wholly  and  out-and-out 
idolatrous,  the  participation  of  a  Christian  in  such  cere- 
monies could  not  be  sanctioned. 


S  I  K  -  A-  W  A  .  359 

XXIX. 

S  I  K  -  A  -  ^V  A  . 

Ox  Thursday,  August  26th,  1857,  a  very  great  change 
took  place  in  the  weather  at  Shanghae.  Fj'om  being  very 
hot,  the  weather  changed  to  heavy  rain,  and  so  cool,  that 
some  more  delicate  individuals  found  a  little  fire  comfort- 
able.    The  wind  was  quite  fresh. 

On  Friday,  starting  about  eleven  in  the  morning, 
I  rode  on  horseback,  with  a  heavy  cloth  cap  on  my 
head,  and  without  any  umbrella,  out  to  Sik-a-Wa,  a 
Roman  Catholic  college,  about  seven  miles  from  our 
residence,  and  did  not  find  the  heat  the  least  oj^pressive. 

The  roads  are  mere  narrow  bridle  paths  passing  along 
the  banks  of  ditches,  and  between  fields  of  cotton,  rice 
and  beans.  The  cotton  was  now  in  bloom,  and  men  Avith 
white  aprons,  hke  bags,  before  them,  were  gathering  the 
bolls.  The  green  rice  fields  were  waving  and  nodding 
their  heavy  heads,  almost  ready  for  the  harvest.  Some 
fields  were  being  hoed  with  j^ronged  hoes,  or  should  I 
rather  say  spots  than  fields,  for  every  little  side  nook 
or  elevation  raked  from  a  creek's  bottom,  was  aj^pro- 
priated  to  use.  The  narrow  line  upon  which  we  rode 
was  so  narrow,  because  no  more  could  be  spared  to  it. 
The  whole  green  fresh  country  was  a  plain.  The  highest 
elevation  we  mounted  in  our  seven  miles'  ride  could  not 
have  been  over  ten  feet.  Once  there  had  been  groves 
of  ancient  trees  inhabiting — yes,  inhabiting,  giving  the 
idea  of  a  higher  and  more  enduring  life — this  j^lain ;  and 
occasionally,  in  the  distance,  some  few*  of  the  solitary 
"  oldest  inhabitants"  might  be  seen  flinging  wide  their 
spreading  branches,  as  if  discoursing  on  the  past,  and 
preaching  a  funeral  sermon  over  their  departed  um- 
brageous fellows. 


360  IN     CHINA. 

There  is  a  delicious  eloquent  communion  to  beheld  with 
one  of  these  single  old  trees  standing  in  a  vast  jilain,  and 
you  and  he  entirely  alone — no  fellows  of  his  kind,  and  none 
of  yours.  I  have  enjoyed  it  as  I  did  on  the  evening  of  this 
day  in  other  regions.  Just  as  the  sun  is  setting,  and  you 
are  hurrying  on  your  way  to  escape  the  shadows  and 
wanderings  of  the  night,  the  old  fellow,  beckons  to  you 
with  a  long  and  gaunt  arm.  Your  heart  turns  to  him, 
but  your  eyes  are  on  the  big  falling  sun,  and  you  think 
you  will  push  on ;  but  there  is  so  much  of  beseeching  in 
his  moving  arms,  he  is  so  lonely,  you  rein  up  your  horse 
to  have  a  talk.  He  tells  you  then  of  his  chronology — of 
the  vast  and  wavy  sapling  horde  which  stood  around  him 
in  his  green  youth  ;  how  man  and  storm  and  disease 
had  taken  all  but  himself;  how  he  had  looked  down  upon 
race  changed  for  race — plain  for  city,  and  city  again  for 
field.  While  you  are  thus  absorbed  by  his  eloquence, 
the  shades  of  night  are  around  you  both,  and  he  grows 
more  animated  as  they  fall  around  him.  You  bid  him 
good-bye,  and  he  waves  you  such  a  farewell,  as  his  arms 
pass  into  tlw3  night-shadows,  as  seems  to  dismiss  you  into 
eternity,  while  he  promises  to  wait  there  and  tell  the 
same  story,  and  yours,  too,  to  some  traveler  of  a  future 
age,  who  may  stand  in  your  place.  There  are  few  places 
where  an  old  tree  could  tell  more  than  one  of  these 
standing  on  the  plains  of  China,  on  the  banks  of  the  Yang 
Tse  Kiang,  and  near  the  walls  of  Shanghae. 

An  old  map,  of  near  a  thousand  years  ago,  of  Shanghae 
and  its  vicinity,  now  before  me,  bears  record  to  the  old 
tree's  evidence.  It  shows  that  near  nine  hundred  years 
ago  there  flowed,  but  a  few  hundred  yards  from  where  I 
now  write,  a  river  over  five  miles  wide.  Two  hundred 
years  later  it  was  but  three  miles  wide,  and  now  I  cross 
it  daily,  a  small  stream,  not  one  fourth  of  a  mile  in  width. 
In  the  meantime  the  river  in  front  of  the  city  has  grown 


SIK-A-WA.  361 

to  its  present  dimensions  from  a  small  creek,  swallowing 
up  a  rampart  built  in  Tsiu  dynasty  fifteen  hundred  years 
ago.  The  jjaved  streets  of  ancient  cities  are  found  in  the 
rice  fields.  The  site  of  the  capital  of  the  Leang  dynasty 
has  passed  away,  and  the  waters  of  Wild  Mulberry  and 
other  neighboring  lakes  flow  over  cities  founded  from 
two  to  five  hundred  years  B.  C. 

The  old  tree  with  which  I  had  now  most  to  do,  had  a  very 
melancholy  story  to  make  up  his  most  recent  recollections. 
It  was  of  the  many  of  his  fellows,  most  ancient  worthies, 
■whole  grave  communities,  which  had  been  destroyed  by 
the  Imperialist  army,  when  it  encamped  on  their  plain, 
besieging  the  rebels  in  Shanghae,  and  then  only  succeeded 
at  last  by  the  impertinent  aid  of  the  French.  I  shall  never 
forgive  either  French  or  Chinese  Imperialists;  not  so  much 
from  sympathy  vrith  the  rebels,  as  from  sympathy  with  the 
trees — but,  "  let  the  dead  past  bury  its  dead."  All  around 
is  now  fat  fertility,  and  busy  industry.  With  their  peaked 
sugar-loafed  hats,  some  of  the  Chinamen  are  hoeing  their 
fields,  some  are  gathering  their  cotton.  The  women  are 
sitting  in  the  yards  ginning  it,  by  a  gin  which  has  prob- 
ably been  in  use  for  centuries  among  these  people,  and  is 
precisely  the  same  as  that  which  gave  fame  to  Whitney, 
established  a  new  element  of  western  civilization,  made  our 
wealth  in  the  South,  and  ties  monarchical,  oligarchical, 
old  England  to  young,  rampant,  democratic  America.  Old 
and  wrinkled  China  women,  turning  those  two  little  cyl- 
inders, and  di'opping  out  cotton  seed,  how  little  do  you 
dream,  how  little  can  you  comprehend  the  great  social, 
political,  and  religious  machine,  over  which  you  are  now 
getting  so  tired.  It  controls  a  world,  makes  noblemen, 
and  docs  not  clothe  you  much  more  than  fig  leaves  would, 
and  nothing  like  so  neatly. 

There  in  the  shade  sits  another  China  woman,  busily 
whirring  round  a  spinning-wheel  of  the  rudest  and  most 


362  IN     CHINA. 

simple  coustniction,  but  carrying  three  spindles.  It  is 
kept  in  motion  by  a  treadle,  which  is  nothing  more  than 
a  stick  like  a  barrel  stave,  sharpened  at  one  end,  and  that 
end  resting  in  a  socket  upon  one  side  of  the  plane  of  the 
wheel,  while  the  other  rests  upon  a  little  bridge,  lifting 
it  from  the  ground. 

Just  rising  above  the  line  of  a  high  hedge  or  live  fence, 
are  seen  the  tiled  roofs,  Avith  peaked  and  carved  gables,  of 
one  story  cottages — the  dwellings  of  the  Chinese  farmers. 
There  are  various  conveniences  for  the  necessities  of  man 
jH-ovided  by  the  authorities  along  the  wayside,  and  here 
we  have  now  come  to  one  of  them,  a  small,  tiled-roofed 
shed,  supported  on  four  brick  columns,  and  covering  stone 
seats,  upon  which  several  wearied  waj'farers  are  now  rest- 
ing themselves.  Such  is  the  purpose  of  these  pubhc 
resting-places.  They  are  placed  at  the  distance  of  every 
six  miles  or  eighteen  li. 

In  our  short  ride  we  have  passed  two  low,  squat  monu- 
ments, or  towers,  with  a  hole  in  the  upper  part  of  one 
side.  These  are  public  baby-houses,  to  receive  the  bodies 
of  those  infants  Avho  are  dead  by  chance  or  their  parents' 
will.  They  are  pitched  into  these  baby-houses,  and  fe- 
male children,  being  of  but  Uttle  value,  make  up  the  mass 
of  the  fining  in  of  these  towers.  Just  on  the  outside  of 
the  city  we  noticed  a  large  building,  covering  much 
ground.  This  was  a  provincial  Wei  Kwei,  or  council 
hall  of  the  men,  who,  from  some  neighboring  province, 
were  resident  for  the  time  being  in  Shanghae.  It  was 
also  the  place  of  deposit  for  their  dead  until  an  oppor- 
tunity occurred  of  bearing  them  to  their  native  place. 
Every  province  has  such  an  establishment  in  these  foreign 
cities  in  which  those  absent  fi-om  their  native  province 
are  in  sufficient  numbers  to  justify  it.  A  few  miles  from 
the  city,  amid  the  farms  and  fields,  another  extensive  and 
strongly -walled  establishment  attracted  the  attention.    It 


SIK-A-WA.  3G3 

was  as  carefully  defended  by  its  close  walls  as  a  fortress. 
This  was  a  pawnbroker's  establishment.  It  is  well  stored 
with  goods  at  the  eventful  New  Year  when  debts  are  to 
be  paid,  and  being,  upon  other  necessities,  the  depot  of 
much  valuable  j)roperty,  there  is  much  care  needed  to 
guard  the  buUding  from  the  assaults  of  banditti.  I  no- 
ticed that  the  walls  of  a  similar  establishment  in  the  city 
of  Shanghae  are  much  higher  than  those  of  the  city.  In 
many  places  the  farmers  were  stUl  busy  irrigating  their  rice 
fields.  An  exceedingly  simple,  but  effectual  chain  pump, 
such  as  any  person  could  make,  and  worked  either  by  hand 
or  bufialo  power,  drew  the  water  from  either  the  natural 
water  courses,  or  from  artificial  ponds,  and  cast  it  over 
the  fields.  Most  of  the  grain,  however,  was  beyond  this 
necessity. 

At  Sik-a-Wa,  we  were,  as  is  the  habit,  very  cordially 
received  by  the  French  and  Italian  priests,  and  conducted 
over  their  establishment,  which  was  in  most  excellent 
order.  The  boys  wei*e  then  at  their  various  amusements. 
They  are  generally  the  children  of  Christian  (Roman)  pa- 
rents. The  institution — indeed,  China — has  recently  sus- 
tained a  great  loss  in  the  death  of  one  of  the  priests,  who 
had  great  skiU  in  modeling  and  sculpture.  Some  of  the 
Chinese  now  work  from  the  instructions  received  from 
this  person ;  but  his  own  models  and  work  in  the  museum 
of  the  workshop,  win  the  highest  commendation  of  con- 
noisseurs. 

The  poor  people  in  the  neighborhood  of  Shanghae 
lighted  their  thankful  lamps  too  soon.  When  we  first 
made  their  acquaintance  last  year,  we  found  them  parched 
and  perishing  with  drought,  and  devoured  by  clouds  of 
hungry  locusts.  This  year  all  has  gone  on  prosperously, 
and  the  lamp-lighted  earth  and  waters  bless  the  stars  by 
imitating  their  brilliancy. 

The  first  Aveek  in  September  came  iu  with  a  light  at- 


364  IN    CHINA. 

mosphcre  and  a  frightfully  foiling  barometer.  The  big  ships 
lying  in  port  began  to  look  sensibly  prudent  and  ugly — 
down  came  all  their  dandy  work.  The  light  tracery  of 
theh'  delicate  spars  and  yards,  which  stood  so  proudly  in 
the  calm  and  sunshine,  "hauled  in  its  horns,"  just  as  the 
judicious  snail  does  when  a  susjiicion  of  danger  to  his 
honse  and  home  reaches  his  foresight.  The  rain  and  Mind 
now  came  in  all  the  jDower  and  quantity  of  a  terrific  gale, 
and  when  the  flood  tide  came  in,  it  rose  above  the  river 
banks  and  spread  out  over  the  city.  The  next  flood  tide 
was  yet  more  beyond  all  bounds  and  bonds.  It  floated  two 
dead  Chinamen,  and  one  dead  foreigner,  into  the  yard  of 
the  French  consulate.  One  could  visit  their  friends  and 
go  to  church  in  a  boat.  The  tide  had  not  been  known  so 
high  in  nine  years. 

Except  that  the  light-ship  anchored  ofl"  the  mouth  of 
the  river  is  said  to  have  disappeared  with  all  on  board  of 
her,  we  hear  of  no  other  loss  of  life.  The  Chinese  steamer 
Confucius  has  gone  in  search  of  her ;  but  the  probability 
is,  she  went  down  at  her  anchors. 

The  country  around  Shanghae  has  been  desolated.  A  few 
days  ago,  the  fields  were  snowy  with  the  ungathered  cotton, 
and  the  full-headed  rice  was  just  putting  on  the  rich  color 
of  maturity.    Now  they  are  all  prostrate  and  mud-washed. 

Ships  which  had  recently  left  port  returned  after  the 
subsidence  of  the  gale,  entirely  dismasted,  and  many  dis- 
asters told  of  the  violence  of  the  cyclone ;  at  the  same 
time  a  great  deal  of  information  was  collected  from  the 
logs  of  difierent  vessels,  illustrating  the  law  of  rotary 
storms.  The  Buenos  Ayrean  schooner  Antonita  had 
the  gale  from  N.  E.  to  E.  JST.  E.,  moderating  round  tc 
E.  and  E.  S.  E.  Another  vessel,  the  Lanrick,  had  it  at 
the  same  time  from  W.  N".  W.  to  W.  S.  W.,  moderating 
to  S.  W.  These  two  vessels  were,  therefore,  in  opposite 
semicircles  of  the  tyjAoon  Avith  its  centre  between  them. 


SEDA2<r     CHAIES.  865 

The  Water  Witch  happened  to  be  ui  that.  The  hurri- 
cane blowing  from  the  north,  fell  to  a  dead  calm  for  a 
a  Quarter  of  an  hour.  "The  sky  is  bright  overhead,  and 
the  stars  are  seen  shining  brightly,  while  all  around  is  in 
gloom  and  darkness.  Birds  and  even  fishes  are  dropping 
and  tumbling  about  the  decks  in  great  ni;mbers.  The 
tumultuous  sea  breaks  in  all  directions,  sweeping  over  the 
ship  from  end  to  end."  "*  The  storm  then  came  furiously 
from  the  south,  all  showing  that  the  Water  Witch  was  in 
the  centre  of  the  cyclone.  Captain  Baker  of  this  vessel, 
places  her  at  midnight,  on  September  13th,  in  latitude  26° 
12'  N.,  longitude  122°  18'  E.,  which  makes  its  position 
one  hundred  sixty  miles  N.  E.  by  E.  from  that  of  the  Lan- 
rick,  and  one  hundred  fifty  miles  S.  E.  by  S.  from  that 
of  the  Antonita.  The  light-ship,  after  sundry  narrow  es- 
capes, was  found  all  safe,  though  much  injured,  down  the 
coast. 


XXX. 

SEDAN     CHAIRS. 

These  chairs  are  of  two  kinds.  One  an  oblong,  up- 
right box,  closed  in  with  curtains  and  Venetian  blinds, 
and  having  a  heavy  wooden  top.  This  chair  must  weigh 
something  like  eighty  pounds.  Another  chair,  more  chair- 
shaped,  of  light  bamboo,  open  and  uncovered,  is  a  much 
more  merciful  burden  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  chair 
coolies.  It  is  remarkable  to  observe  what  a  degenerating 
and  demoralizing  institution  these  chairs  are,  and  how 
rapidly  the  degenerating  process  goes  on. 

When  a  foreigner,  especially  an  American,  arrives  in 
China,  he 'is  disgusted  and  pained  to  see  comfortable- 
looking  men  sitting  in  their  shady  chairs,  smoking  their 
cigars,  reading  books,  or  being  carried  side  by  side  with 
*  North  China  Ilorald. 


866  IN     CHINA. 

a  h\dy,  who  in  nnotlier  clia.ir  is  tlins  taJcing  her  evening 
walk,  -while  the  chair  coolies  are  reeting  with  jierspira- 
tion,  panting  under  their  burden,  and  many  of  them 
marked  with  tumors  produced  by  the  pressure  of  the 
sticks  upon  their  shoulders,  while  the  same  burning  sun 
whose  lightest  ray  the  chair  lounger  shuns  as  a  pestilence, 
is  beating  in  ardent  fury  upon  the  often  uncovered  heads 
of  his  bearers.  There  seems  something  humiliating  and 
unmanly  in  the  admission  that  these  two  miserable,  light 
"  cash"-sui5ported,  rice-fed,  contemptible,  despised  China- 
men should  have  the  physical  vigor  to  walk  oif  with  these 
ponderous  vehicles  upon  their  shoulders,  and  the  dead 
weight  of  a  beef-fed  foreigner's  carcase  in  addition,  while 
the  foreigner  is  unable  to  locomote  his  sole  self. 

On  a  slave  plantation,  or  in  any  city  of  a  southern 
State,  the  most  delicate  and  fragile  lady  would  be  ashamed 
to  make  a  beast  of  burden  of  the  negro  slaves,  whilst  it 
IS  not  at  all  improbable  that  the  two  heavy  old  or  new 
Englishmen  now  promenading  upon  the  backs  of  these 
sweating  Chinamen,  are  denouncing  the  horrors  of  Ameri- 
can slavery. 

So  far  as  my  own  limited  observation  goes,  it  teaches 
that  gentlemen  from  the  slave  States  of  our  South  are 
more  repugnant  in  China  to  making  beasts  of  burden  of 
human  beings  than  are  any  other  foreigners. 

Two  reasons  are  urged  in  defense  of  this  painful  in- 
dolence. One  is,  that  the  coolies  like  it — that  is,  they 
want  the  employment ;  and  the  other  is,  the  sun.  There 
is  a  most  fanatical  horror  of  the  sun  among  the  foreign 
residents  of  China  which  does  not  seem  to  be  at  all  jus- 
tified by  facts.  As  soon  as  a  stranger  arrives  in  China, 
every  one  who  has  the  privilege  of  speaking  to  him  at 
once  warns  him  of  the  horrors  of  the  sun.  He  must  not 
move  in  it,  must  not  show  himself  to  it,  nor  by  any  means 
allow  it  to  paint  one  bronzing  touch  uiDon  his  skin.     It 


SEDAN     CHAIKS.  367 

is  fever,  dysentery,  liv^er  complaint,  tliough,  strange 
enough,  you  never  hear  it  is  coiqy  de  soleil^  and  the 
stranger  feels  jjestilence  in  every  warming  ray.  Nothing, 
however,  is  said  to  the  new-comer  against  sundry  bran- 
dies and  water — brandies  and  soda  may  pop  harmlessly 
through  every  sweltering  hour  of  the  day — porter  and 
port,  sherry  by  the  quart.  Tiffins  at  one,  of  hot  meats 
and  strong  drink ;  dinners  commencing  at  8  p.  M.,  and 
floated  along  two  or  three  hours  on  rosy  wine,  are  only 
named  as  genial  apjiliances  of  the  climate.  For  exercise 
to  work  up  aU  this  material  a  drowsy  stroll  iu  the  eve- 
ning damps  and  chills  of  the  ferns  and  rice  marshes,  or 
the  violent  evening  exertion  of  a  bowling  alley  or  racket 
court  or  billiard -room  is  thought  sufficient. 

Although  the  sun  is  everywhere,  in  warjn  weather, 
uncomfortable,  and  too  great  an  exposure  to  it  dangerous, 
yet  it  maybe  a  question  whether  this  Chinese  celery  blanch- 
ing of  the  surface,  and  the  atony  thus  induced  in  the  skin, 
and  through  it  in  the  whole  of  the  internal  organs  so  ex- 
tensively sympathizing  with  it,  is  not  a  greater  source  of 
disease  than  would  be  that  degree  of  exposure  to  the  open 
air  and  sun  which  would  indurate  and  bronze  the  surface. 

It  is  a  well  estabhshed  principle  that  exposure  in  a 
malarious  country  is  more  safe  in  the  middle  and  heat 
of  the  day  than  in  the  morning  or  evening  chills  ;  and 
topographically  as  well  as  endemically,  as  resjiects  foreign- 
ers, China  is  a  malarious  country,  and  especially  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Shanghae.  It  is  ray  conviction,  though,  I  ad- 
mit, a  merely  theoretical  one,  that  the  sun  of  Shanghae, 
the  solar  heat,  is  not  so  influential  for  evil  as  it  is  in  New 
York  or  Philadelphia,  simply  because  it  is  not  so  great. 
The  summer  climate  of  Shanghae  is  more  moderate  than 
that  of  either  of  the  above-named  jjlaces.  The  general 
exposure  of  the  loaded,  laboiing  coolies  of  Shanghae  to 
the  midday  sun — the  burden  coolies,  chair  coolies,  and 


368  IN     CHINA, 

boatmen — could  not  take  place  in  New  York  without 
more  instances  of^coup  de  soleil  than  I  ever  heard  of  here. 
In  fact,  I  never  heard  of  any,  though  they  may  have  oc- 
curred, although  the  streets  were  crowded  with  the  bare, 
semi-shaven  heads  of  these  men  tottering  under  heavy 
burdens  at  the  fiery  hours  of  the  day.  And  I  doubt  if 
the  cloistered,  sedan  and  umbrella-blanched  residents  of 
Shanghae  could  compare  in  health  with  the  sun-bronzed 
seamen,  the  officers  of  the  national  and  mercantile  vessels 
Avhich  visited  the  port.  Of  course  the  drunken  and  licen- 
tious ships'  crews  are  not  to  be  taken  as  a  standard.  I 
know  it  may  be  answered  me,  "  These  strangers  are  more 
healthy,  because  they  are  but  temporarily  exj)osed  to  the 
deleterious  influence  of  the  climate."  True,  but  not  being 
acclimated,  they  are  more  amenable  to  climatic  and  any 
special  solar  influence  that  may  be  existing. 

It  is  my  duty  to  say  that  these  opinions  are  advanced 
coutr-ary  to  the  testimony  of  preceding  writers,  and  contra- 
ry to  the  alleged  and  supposed  experience  of  long  resident 
lay  and  professional  men.  But  a  prevalent  opinion  is  not 
always  a  correct  one,  and  one  that  will  stand  the  test  of 
facts  and  principles.  The  most  apparent  sensible  cause, 
particularly  if  it  is  one  of  physical  annoyance,  is  often 
concluded  to  be  the  true  cause  of  any  immediate  or  simul- 
taneous morbid  efiect.  In  our  own  agueish  districts, 
when  the  thin,  chilled,  sallow  victims  stand  in  the  genial 
sun's  rays,  they  are  warned  not  to  do  so,  because  the  sun 
gives  them  the  "  ager."  The  sun  is  a  seen  and  felt  influ- 
ence ;  the  mysterious,  invisible,  nerve-shaking,  and  para- 
lyzing malaria,  which  steals  upon  them  in  the  shades  of 
night,  is  not  seen. 

I  throw  out  these  suggestions  for  the  consideration  of 
those  who  are  most  interested  in  testing  their  truth,  and 
have  the  best  opportunities  for  doing  so.  The  truth  is 
important,  not  only  in  a  hygienic  but  in  a  moral  and  reli- 


SEDAN     CHAIRS.  369 

gious  point  of  view,  I  have  heard  those  who  were  dis- 
posed to  seek  every  flaw  in  the  missionaries'  character, 
and  to  censure  them  for  human  infirmity,  say :  "  I  saw  so 
and  so  to-day  (Sunday)  in  his  sedan  chair,  on  the  shoul- 
ders of  his  cooUes,  going  to  church,  to  preach,  and  I  did 
not  go  to  hear  him,  because  I  remembered  the  command, 
'  Keep  holy  the  Sabbath  day,  thou  and  thy  seiwants.' " 
And  although  these  same  missionaries  honestly  believed 
they  were  the  victims  of  a  law  of  necessity,  they  are  cer- 
tainly open  to  the  comments  of  those  who  find  no  neces- 
sity sufiiciently  urgent  to  prevent  them  from  trudging 
about  on  foot.  And  when  we  see  ladies  seat  themselves 
in  a  sedan  chair,  and  mount  the  backs  of  two  coolies,  we 
are  very  apt  to  think  of  our  ovm  wives  and  daughters, 
and  even  of  these  same  ladies  who,  without  horses  or 
carriages,  or  coolies,  in  the  more  intemperate  climate  of 
home,  have  to  do  all  their  visiting  and  shopping  on  foot. 

My  heretical  tendency  of  opinion  has  the  disadvantage 
of  being  opposed  to  the  innate  sensuality  and  indolence 
of  men  who  find  it  much  more  agreeable  to  move  about 
in  the  shade  of  a  sedan  chair  upon  the  backs  of  coolies, 
than  in  the  open  air  upon  their  own  feet. 

I  did  find  some  few  obstinate  men,  who,  in  practice  and 
opinion,  conformed  to  my  views,  and  who  volunteered  to 
me  their  gratification  that  I  had  denounced  the  popular 
luxury,  but  these  were  hard,  healthy,  brown,  and  some- 
what rough-looking  individuals.  I  was  also  sustained  by 
the  opinion  of  some  non-resident  professional  gentlemen, 
and  that  of  one  who  accumulated  a  I'ctiring  fortune  hi  the 
south  of  China.  He  thought  much  infirmity  Avas  incident 
to  the  panic  flight  from  the  sun's  rays,  especially  with 
children.  Indeed,  it  has  gi'own  into  a  maxim  that  chil- 
dren, at  five  or  six  years  of  age,  must  bo  sent  to  their 
European  or  American  homes  to  be  saved. 

This  gentleman  had  for  years  acted  upon  this  opinion, 

10* 


370  '        IN     CHINA. 

and  spent  many  enthusiastic,  laborious  hours,  in  all  the 
heat  of  a  southern  Chinese  sun ;  but  he  could  not  do  so  if 
he  took  any  stimulants.  He  left  China  in  good  health. 
One  case  is  no  conclusive  testimony,  but  it  lielps  to  reach 
the  truth. 

Although,  duiing  nearly  two  years  of  ray  residence  in 
China,  I  suffered  from  one  of  the  debilitating  diseases  of 
the  climate,  contracted,  originally,  in  Siam  ;  yet,  I  walked 
much  and  freely  through  the  sun,  at  all  hours  of  the  day, 
both  in  Hong  Kong  and  Shanghae.  I  did  this  at  times 
when,  in  prudence,  I  ought  not  to  have  done  so  in  any 
climate,  and  at  the  cost  of  many  lectures,  protests,  and 
threatening  warnings  from  my  kind  friends.  However, 
my  repugnance  to  the  chairs  and  to  riding  my  fellow-men, 
not  "  booted  and  spurred,"  but  chaired  and  cigarred,  was 
very  great,  and,  then,  I  owed  the  allegiance  of  a  martyr 
.to  my  heresy  of  opinion.  My  health  was  gradually  but 
perceptibly  improved.  I  do  not,  of  course,  attribute  the 
result  to  the  exposure — indeed,  am  willing  to  admit  it 
may  have  retarded  my  recovery — and,  yet,  there  may  be 
a  question  whether  my  ultra  and  imprudent  running  about 
in  the  sun,  with  its  toning  and  tanning,  its  indurating 
effect  and  that  of  the  accompanying  exercise,  did  not  do 
me  good,  at  least  proportionate  to  the  injury.  However,  I 
do  not  advise  it  as  a  general  i^ractice ;  I  merely  mean  to 
suggest  that  an  exposure  to  the  sun  of  China  is  no  more 
mysteriously  dangerous  than  the  same  amount  of  exposure 
in  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  New  York,  or  Boston ;  but, 
in  the  latter  places,  there  are  no  chair  coolies  to  make  the 
sim  such  a  pestilence.  The  most  healthy  foreign  children  I 
saw  in  China  were  those  of  missionaries — children  who 
ran  out  of  doors  freely  as  they  do  at  home. 

These  chairs  are  a  part  of  the  moral  and  social  system 
of  the  Chinese,  and  hence  there  are  reasons  for  their  use, 
which  foreigners  have  not.     A  chair  of  a  certain  kind  and 


THB    AMERICAN    EAGLE     IK     SHAKGHAE.    371 

decoration  is  iiecessaiy  to  a  marriage — a  bridal-chair. 
The  jealousy  of  their  women,  and  the  spirit  of  female 
seclusion,  renders  necessary  some  such  means  of  shutting 
them  up  when  they  go  out.  The  rank  of  a  Chinese  is 
indicated  by  the  number  of  men  who  bear  his  chair,  as 
well  as  by  its  color,  only  important  men  being  entitled  to 
a  green  chair.  They  are  the  traveling  conveyances,  about 
twenty-four  miles  being  the  day's  journey  with  four  bear- 
ers, each  pair  relieving  at  suitable  distances. 


XXXI. 

THE  AMERICAN   EAQLE  IN  SHANOHAE. 

There  is,  I  am  sorry  to  admit,  too  much  reason  for 
Americans  in  China  becoming,  as  the  old  mandarin  is  said 
to  have  said,  "  second  class  Englishmen." 

The  United  States  in  its  collective  j)ersonaIity  holds  its 
head  very  high  at  home.  It  professes  to  be  very  rich, 
very  independent,  veiy  liberal,  very  elegant,  very  com- 
miserating of  other  nationalities,  and  very  superlatively 
good  and  great  in  all  things. 

"But  it  shall  come  to  pass 
That  every  braggart  shall  be  found  an  ass." 

In  China  this  great  boaster,  with  so  much  to  boast  of, 
this  propagandist  of  the  most  modern  and  improved  doc- 
tiines  of  political  progress,  is  superlatively  insignificant. 
The  ostrich  bides  its  head  and  thinks  its  great  lumbering 
body  is  concealed.  The  American  eagle  looks  so  much 
and  so  proudly  upon  its  own  broad  bosom  that  it  does  not 
see  its  distant  tail  plumage  dragging  in  the  mud.  But 
drag  it  does,  and  so  wretchedly  that  the  eagle's  best  friends 


372  IN     OUINA. 

are  ashamed  of  it.  lu  China,  instead  of  holding  its  head 
erect  and  spreading  its  i)iuion3  to  a  free  air,  it  is  a  sneak- 
ing, mean,  dependent  beggar,  maintaining  its  official  ex- 
istence by  charity  and  all  kinds  of  wretched  shifts.  All 
this  will  be  very  distressing  to  the  loyalty  of  juvenile  pa- 
triotism, aiKl  those  who  get  their  blood  warmed  with  the 
fire  of  Fourth  of  July  orations.  Come  on  to  the  stage  of 
Ufe,  then,  as  quick  as  possible,  and  change  it  all. 

This  round  world  over,  there  is  no  place  dotting  its  sur- 
face— none — where  it  is  more  incumbent  upon  the  United 
States  to  give  the  outward  signs  and  symbols  of  its  power 
and  its  intelligence,  than  in  Shanghae.  Here,  of  all  other 
places,  the  bushel  should  be  kicked  off  the  light,  and  its 
candle  set  upon  the  highest  hUl.  It  is  due  to  commerce, 
to  morality,  and  to  religion — to  say  nothing  about  the 
great  obligations  to  Buncombe  and  to  the  Fourth  of  July. 

We  are  admitted  by  treaty  to  five  ports:  Canton,  Amoy, 
Fuchau,  Ningpo,  Shanghae.  The  extension  by  the  recent 
treaty  does  not  alter  the  argument.  As  Troja,  Canton 
fuit,  as  far  as  foreigners  are  concerned,  and  before  this  salt- 
sowing  of  Yeh  on  the  ground  our  feet  had  desecrated,  all  we 
had  of  Canton,  as  we  have  seen,  were  two  close-built  city 
blocks  in  a  suburb  outside  the  wall,  and  those  who  ventured 
out  of  their  prison  bounds  did  so  at  the  risk  of  their  lives. 

Much  tea  is  shipped  at  Fuchau,  but  this  also  has  an  in- 
imical population.  The  others  are  but  minor  points,  and 
afford  no  facilities  for  impressing  the  Chinese. 

Now  what  is  Shanghae  ?  It  is  a  large  and  growing  Eu- 
roi^ean  or  American  city,  with  all  the  comforts  and  con- 
veniences of  our  civilization.  It  is  the  only  city  of  the 
kind  in  China,  except  the  English  city  of  Hong  Kong, 
in  the  far  south,  and  that  is  isolated.  The  foreign  Shang- 
hae stands  side  by  side  with  the  murky  wall  of  the  Chi- 
nese Shanghae,  and  the  freest  intercourse  exists  between 
the  two.    Already  the  wide  streets,  lofty  and  large  houses 


THE    AMERICAN    EAGLE    IX    SHANGHAE.       373 

with  their  grounds  and  shrubbery  in  the  foreign  settlement, 
contrasted  with  the  dirty  narrow  lanes,  the  low  cramped 
houses  of  the  Chinese  city,  have  Avon  so  upon  the  natives 
that  much  of  the  foreign  city  is  tenanted  or  owned  by  them. 

Again,  Shanghae  belongs  to  no  separate  nationality. 
It  is  neither  American,  English  nor  French,  but  all — prin- 
cipally the  two  former  in  importance  and  mfluence  ;  and 
gentlemen  of  these  nations  constitute  its  municipal  govern- 
ment. It  has  nominal  limits,  it  is  true ;  but  only  nominal, 
the  facilities  for  extension  are  indefinite,  and  Americans 
may  here  spread  themselves  and  widen  the  area  of  their 
national  institutions.  This  mingled  nationahty  is  an  es- 
pecial reason  why  the  United  States  should  put  on  a  garb 
and  costume  befitting  its  dignity  and  importance. 

Shanghae  is  the  great  silk  and  tea-shipping  port.  There 
are  at  the  moment  of  this  writing,  eighty-two  vessels  in 
port,  and  some  of  them  the  largest  sized  American  clippers. 

Where  American  commerce  can  go,  the  American  gov- 
ernment can  and  ought  to  go  with  its  ships ;  and  for  real 
service  we  ought  not  to  have  on  the  coast  of  China  any 
ships  drawing  more  water  than  such  as  are  in  the  table, 
given  in  a  former  chapter,  but  we  ought  to  have  several 
much  smaller. 

Shanghae  is  not  only  the  port  of  the  silk  district,  of  the 
gi-een  tea  district;  but  is  sufficiently  convenient,  for  all  prac- 
tical purposes,  to  the  best  black  tea.  This,  however,  finds 
its  egress  chiefly  at  Fuchau.  Its  close  proximity  to  the 
opening  empire  of  Jajian  must  greatly  add  to  its  future  im- 
portance, and  it  is  the  port  from  which  China  chin-chins 
the  United  States  at  San  Francisco.  They  nod  and  shake 
hands  at  each  other. 

So  long  as  we  get  our  news  and  information  by  the  En- 
glish overland  mail,  there  is  four  or  five  days'  advantage 
in  being  down  at  Hong  Kong,  but  even  now  a  favored 
merchant  shi[)  brings  us  sometimes  as  late  news  by  way 


374  IN     CUINA. 

of  California,  and  Avlicn  ^ve  get  steam  communication  from 
San  Francisco  to  Shangliae,  we  shall  have  the  advantage, 
at  this  latter  port,  of  fifteen,  to  twenty  days  over  the  En- 
glish overland  mail. 

Shanghae  is  that  part  of  China,  and  that  only,  in  which 
natives  and  foreigners  come  into  free  contact  Avith  each 
other.  Among  its  fleets  of  junks  the  Skilled  eye  can 
point  out  those  belonging  to  different  jirovinces,  hundreds 
of  miles  distant.  Country  people  come  into  Shanghae 
to  see  the  foreigners  and  their  beautiful  city.  Learned 
men  come  from  Pekin,  and  are  found  engaged  in  literary 
labors  among  the  foreigners  ;  and  the  latter  travel  with- 
out molestation,  into  the  interior,  although  there  is  a 
treaty  prohibition  against  it ;  indeed,  some  live  there  with 
their  families,  even  renting  of  a  mandarin.  At  this  mo- 
ment two  young  men  are  absent  as  emissaries  of  the 
American  Ei^iscopal  mission,  choosing  a  permanent  loca- 
tion in  some  distant  city.     This  was  before  the  late  treaty. 

Such  being  this  city  of  twelve  years'  growth,  it  is  worth 
our  while  to  look  closely  at  our  national  official  position 
in  it. 

At  the  point  where  the  Chinese  and  the  foreign  cities 
of  Shanghae  rest  upon  its  banks,  the  Wong  Po,  about  a 
mile  broad,  makes  a  horse-shoe  curve  of  from  two  to  three 
miles  from  north-east  to  south-west.  A  low,  green  point 
hes  in  the  hollow  of  this  bend,  but  leaving  the  river  to 
curve  around  it  of  uniform  width. 

We  will  not  commence  at  the  upper  extremity  of  the 
cuiwe  upon  which  lies  the  Chinese  city,  but  just  below 
the  east  gate,  where  commences  the  foreign  settlement. 
There  is  not  much  foreign  population  here  yet ;  some 
Chinese  houses  ;  and  recently  built,  a  French  Catholic 
educational  institution  upon  the  back  part  of  the  settle- 
ment. There  are,  however,  a  few  large  and  commodious 
foreign  houses.    All  this  fci'oimd  is  what  the  French  call 


THE    A3XEEICAN    EAGLE     IN     SHAKGHAE.       375 

"  La  Concession  Frangaise,"  and  we  saw  that  the  French 
consul's  aim  is  to  nationalize  it,  claiming  that  the  people 
of  his  great  nation  shall  Uve  there,  and  I  infer,  on  the 
contrary,  that  no  other  people  shall,  unless  under  French 
jurisdiction.  The  natural  consequence  is,  there  are  large 
tracts  of  waste,  unoccupied  land,  as,  where  there  are  so 
few  Frenchmen,  and  these  have  their  living  to  get,  they 
will  go  where  the  most  favorable  site  for  business  is  found. 
As  we  walk  down  the  "  Bund,"  on  the  river  bank,  we 
come  to  a  very  large  walled-in  lot,  with  a  very  high  flag- 
staff, from  which  flies  the  tri-color.  This  is  the  well- 
chosen  location  of  the  future  imperial  French  consulate. 
At  present  M,  do  Montigny  occupies  a  respectable  resi- 
dence near  this  inclosure. 

We  now  cross  a  bridge  over  the  Yang-kin-pang  creek, 
and  are  in  what  really  is  the  foreign  city  of  Shanghae. 
This,  as  before  stated,  used  to  be  called  the  English  settle- 
ment, from  the  claim  set  up  by  the  English  consul  for 
exclusive  jurisdiction,  and  that  none  but  the  English  flag 
should  fly  there.  A  claim  firmly  resisted  by  our  country- 
men, Messrs.  Griswold  and  Cunningham,  and  set  aside 
by  the  justice  of  the  English  government.  Since  then,  it 
prospers  imder  amalgamated  flags  and  nationalities,  and 
such  will  be  the  fate  of  "  La  Concession  Francaise,"  when 
there  is  inducement  enough  to  resist  the  pretensions  of 
the  French  consul. 

Amid  the  crowd  of  boats  and  the  cries  of  boatmen  and 
laborers,  with  the  river  and  shipping  on  the  one  hand, 
and  stately  buildings  on  the  other,  wo  proceed  for  a  mile 
along  this  busy  way,  until  we  come  to  where  the  broad 
Su-chau  creek  forms  its  junction  with  the  Wong  Po.  Here, 
at  this,  the  most  beautiful  of  all  the  locations  in  Shang- 
hae, looking  down  the  reach  of  the  river,  up  the  waters  of 
the  creek,  and  over  the  whole  settlement,  surrounded  by 


376  IN    CHINA. 

large  grounds  and  brick  wall,  are  the  showy  buildings  of 
the  British  consulate.  The  consular  residence  and  court- 
house, the  post  office,  and  the  English  jail  are  all  here, 
with  the  union  jack  flying  in  their  firont. 

Leaving  this,  we  cross  Su-chau  creek  on  the  new  tile- 
paved  drawbridge,  and  we  are  now  in  a  swampy  addition 
to  the  original  settlement.  Mud  flats,  rice  fields,  a  few  new 
Euroi^ean  houses  occupied  by  Chinese,  and  a  village  of  the 
aborigine,  constitute  most  of  the  settlement,  excepting 
that  here  are  the  houses  and  the  church  of  the  American 
Ej)iscopal  mission.  On  this  account  it  is  called,  I  sup- 
jDOse,  the  American  settlement.  The  "  Bund,"  however, 
has  recently  been  carried  along  the  river  on  this  side,  and 
following  it  around,  we  pass  the  church  and  come  to 
another  small  bridge,  and  over  this  we  come  plump  up 
to  a  sailor  boarding-house.  The  road,  it  is  true,  lies 
straight  before  us,  marked  out,  but  not  made,  and  lead- 
ing away  into  swampy  rice  fields.  We,  however,  turn 
around  the  corner  of  the  sailor  boarding-house  garden 
fence,  and  find  our  selves  in  a  narrow,  muddy  alley, 
back  of  a  row  of  coal-sheds,  and  turning  into  a  gate 
from  this  alley,  we  are  in  the  little  yard  of  the  United 
States  consulate,  a  shackling  two-story  building,  of  seven 
small  rooms,  with  a  tremendous  tall  flag-stafl''  flying  the 
United  States  flag  in  front  of  this  house  which  has  no 
front  approach  to  it.  Taou  Tai,  Commissioner,  Consul, 
Governor  General,  must  all  visit  the  United  States  consul 
by  the  muddy  alley,  unless  they  come  in  a  boat.  Here  it 
stands,  the  very  last  house  down  the  river  planted  in  the 
swamp.  Close  up  to  its  fence,  under  its  windows,  is  a 
hole  dug  in  the  mud-bank  for  a  dock-yard,  and  Shanghae, 
down  the  river,  ends. 

When  all  these  remote  and  wonder-seeking  Chinamen 
come  in  to  see  the  foreigners  at  home,  what  must  be  the 
impressions  they  carry  home  respecting  the  nations  whose 


THE     AMERICAN     EAGLE    IN     SHANGHAE.       377 

consulates  are  in  such  contrast  with  each  other  ?  Is  it  any 
wonder  that  they  regard  Americans  as  second  class  En- 
glishmen ?  It  is  scarce  a  wonder  that  Americans  regard 
themselves  as  such. 

But  even  this  wretched  place  is  to  some  extent  a  char- 
ity. It  has  been  built  by  the  wealthy  American  house  of 
Russell  &  Co.,  as  a  refuge  for  the  American  consul,  because 
there  is  none  other  for  him,  on  any  terras,  and  if  there 
were  any  vacancies,  they  could  not  be  had  upon  any  rent 
the  United  States  consul  could  pay.  This  place  would 
cost  in  the  United  States  about  twelve  or  fifteen  hundi'ed 
dollars  to  build  it,  and  it  rents  moderately  at  eight  hun- 
dred dollars.     Its  cost  here  I  do  not  know. 

There  is  one  great  advantage  in  the  United  States  con- 
sulate. Being  the  last  house  down  the  river,  on  the  lower 
arm  of  the  horse-shoe,  it  offers  a  beautiful  view  of  the  river 
and  the  city  above  it.  It  is  said  people  go  down  into  deep 
and  dark  wells  to  look,  at  noon-day,  upon  the  stars  in  the 
high  heavens.  "We  take  our  stars  down  into  the  lowest 
depths,  that  we  may  look  up  at  the  flashing  tri-color  and 
the  fiery  cross  of  St.  George.  As  we  are  down  here,  we 
may  a'=:  well  make  the  best  of  it.  The  place  is  a  little 
damp,  and  dismal,  and  soggy,  but  what  a  bright,  cloud- 
less October  day  spreads  a  golden  flood  of  light  around 
us  and  over  the  scene.  In  front  of  us  flows  the  river  and 
over  it  lies  the  green  lowland  point  with  its  groves,  sailors' 
cemetery,  and  a  few  buildings.  It  hides  most  of  the  Chi- 
nese city,  but  beyond  this  point  we  see  what  looks  like  a 
sapling  forest,  stripped  of  its  leaves  by  autumnal  frosts. 
These  are  the  up  and  down  slender  masts  of  the  junks  lying 
in  front  of  the  Chinese  town.  Just  below  them,  seen  over 
the  point,  commences  the  massing  together  of  the  tall 
masts  and  cross-spars  of  the  foreign  shipping,  a  curving 
crowd  down  the  course  of  the  river,  thinning  out  a  little 
as  they  approach  us,  uutil  there  arc  only  about  twenty- four 


378  IN     CHINA, 

opposite  our  position  to  the  lowest  limit  about  half  a  mile 
below  us  —  forty-eight  British  flags,  thirteen  American, 
five  Siamese,  four  Dutch,  three  Spanish,  two  Hamburg, 
two  French,  one  Danish,  one  Bremen.  These  foreigners, 
though,  except  when  they  are  busy  with  the  cargo-boats, 
loading  or  imloading,  present  but  the  still  or  sleeping  life 
of  the  river.  They  are  resting  from  their  long  jour- 
ney. Its  life  and  animation  are  in  the  native  junks.  It 
is  now  flood-tide  and  a  fair  wind,  and  they  glide  by  us 
in  such  numbers,  with  all  their  brown,  tan-colored  sails 
set,  generally  four  narrow,  oblong  sails,  the  two  long- 
est on  the  two  middle  masts,  one  shorter  on  the  bow, 
and  one  on  the  stern — it  will  puzzle  you  to  count  them. 
They  glide  by  with  the  rapidity  of  railroad  cars.  The 
numerous  little  sampans,  with  their  various  and  fanciful 
flags,  red  streaks,  and  arched  mat  roofs,  gliding  in  every 
direction,  with  the  tide,  against  it,  across  the  stream, 
give  animation  to  the  scene.  Everybody  who  has  any 
thing  to  do  upon  the  water  has  his  own  sampan ;  every 
ship  in  the  harbor  employs  its  own,  and  each  of  these 
private  boats  is  distinguished  by  some  private  flag,  and 
the  number  taxes  the  invention  to  find  variety.  In  ad- 
dition to  these  private  boats,  numbers  lie  at  each  wharf 
for  chance  hire. 

Whilst  these  river  scenes  are  passing  before  us,  the  sun 
has  sank  to  his  setting,  and  we  have  four  nationalities 
celebrating  the  close  of  the  day.  Crack  go  two  muskets, 
and  these,  followed  by  the  notes  of  a  bugle,  tell  that  the 
Frenchman  has  made  it  sundown.  A  roll  of  the  drum 
salutes  the  descent  of  the  English  and  American  ensigns, 
and  then  the  band  of  the  San  Jacinto  harmoniously  cai'- 
ries  the  day  into  night,  when  the  Russians  raise  their 
voices  from  the  deck  of  the  America  in  a  Christian  anthem 
to  the  God  of  all.  But  we  have  not  done  with  our  own 
eagle's  doings  in  Shanghae.      The  consul  is  a  judge,  a 


THE     AMERICAN    EAGLE    I^    SUANGHAE.      379 

sheriff.  He  daily  makes  arrests,  holds  courts,  and  is  sus- 
tained with  great  physical  ability  by  a  stout  marshal.  The 
theatre  of  all  these  dignified  doings  is  a  little  oiit-building 
just  ten  feet  square,  and  alongside  the  door  the  eagle,  with 
outstretched  wings,  is  painted  on  a  sign  in  the  most  fero- 
cious attitude.  But  when  the  consul  has  tried  his  culprits 
and  condemned  them,  what  is  he  to  do  with  them  to  meet 
the  ends  of  justice  ?  The  consul's  culprits  are  not  much 
incumbered  with  scrip,  lands  or  houses,  and  having  prob- 
ably been,  at  the  last  event,  kicked  out  of  some  loafing  ref- 
uge, for  want  of  financial  resources,  they  are  not  amenable 
to  fine,  and  what  is  he  to  do  with  them  ?  He  has  no  jaU ; 
the  British  consul  has.  If  the  British  consul  were  a  crusty 
official,  and  not  disposed  to  extend  the  hospitaUties  of  the 
jail,  there  would  be  an  end  to  the  matter  ;  but  at  the  time 
of  my  observation,  a  courteous  and  gentlemanly  pei'son, 
Mr.  Robertson,  was  in  the  office,  and  was  very  liberal  of 
his  jail  facilities ;  still  it  was  not  proper  to  ride  a  free  horse 
to  death — and  this  consideration  very  often  brought  terms 
of  justice  down  to  terms  of  mercy.  We  may  suppose 
some  such  sentence  as  the  following : 

"  Your  crime  entitles  you  to  three  months'  confinement, 
but  inasmuch  as  I  can  not  trespass  so  long  as  that  on  the 
hospitaUty  of  the  British  government,  I  send  you  over 
for  three  weeks;"  or  maybe  the  United  States  consul 
writes  over  to  his  British  colleague : 

U.  S.  Consulate. 
Ht  Dear  Mr.  Robertson  : 

I  have  six  rascals  who  have  been  committing  outrages 
in  the  country,  and  I  want  to  shut  tliem  up  for  a  month. 
I  know  that  your  accommodations  arc  limited,  and  you 
have  many  claimants  of  your  own.  I  am  so  often  indebted 
to  your  courteous  hos[)itality  that  I  dislike  mucli  to  be  a 
trespasser,  but  Avould  be  glad  to  know  the  extent  to  which 


380  IN     CHINA. 

you  can  nceominodate  mc,  and  if  uot  to  the  whole  num- 
ber, they  cau  draw  lots  for  the  chance. 

Yours,  with  thanks  for  past  favors, 

.  U.  JS.  Consul. 

IT.  Jif.  Consulate,  Shanghae. 
My  Dear  Colleague  : 

I  am  a  little  crowded,  but  to  accommodate  you,  and 

to  secure  the  i3eace  of  the  community,  I  will  let  out  four 

of  my  mitigated  rascals  and  take  in  six  of  yours. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be. 

Your  friend  in  official  need. 

,  a.  M,  Consul. 

The  United  States  consulate  was  a  good  theatre  for  ob- 
serving the  ascendency  of  the  Japhetic  over  the  Shemitic 
race.  I  have  seen  the  lowest  puddle  of  our  noble  blood  as- 
serting its  superiority  in  this  wise  :  a  fellow  with  a  stout 
cudgel,  felt  hat  pressed  down  over  his  reddened  eyes  and 
face,  rings  in  his  ears,  dragging  in  two  crying  Chinamen  by 
their  long  queues,  to  have  them  adjudged  by  his  consul 
for  some  offense  against  this  noble  American  ;  and  when 
he  found  the  consul  was  not  there,  and  thought  none  saw 
hiui,  King  Demos  wanted  to  know  why  the  d — 1  the  con- 
sul was  not  there,  and  with  curses  in  Enghsh,  and  curses 
in  Chinese,  with  an  occasional  kick,  would,  if  permitted  to 
go  on,  have  been  his  own  judge  and  executioner. 

"Without  any  exaggeration,  indeed,  feeling  that  I  have 
failed  to  reach  the  force  of  truth,  I  have  made  an  effort 
to  show  by  facts  and  observation  the  natune  of  the  United 
States  consulate  in  Shanghae.  Any  one  could  attend  to 
the  sterpotyj)ed  affairs  of  merchant  ships  and  sailors ;  but 
the  constantly  arising  questions  to  be  determined  with- 
out precedent,  in  such  a  chaotic  jurisdiction  require  a 
man  of  the  first  order  in  character,  abihty,  and  legal  at- 
tainments.    I  offer  now  the  testimony  of  one  of  the  most 


THE    AMEBICAK    EaGLE    IX    SHANGHAE.      381 

able  United  States  consuls  in  China.  His  remark  was, 
"  We  have  nevev  had  a  consul  in  China  equal  to  the  re- 
quirements of  his  position.  He  should  be  in  character 
and  acquirements  all  that  an  able  judge  is  at  home." 
There  is  often  a  good  deal  of  cant  about  the  poor  pay  of 
our  officials  abroad,  because  they  ca#  not  comi3ete  with 
the  representatives  of  other  nations  in  dinner  parties  and 
other  splendid  entertainments. 

I  have  never  been  able  to  recognize  the  force  of  this 
kind  of  argument ;  because  the  simplicity  and  honesty 
of  our  government  have  repudiated  the  falsity,  the  in- 
trigue, and  deception  of  the  old  diplomatic  art,  and  asking 
nothing  but  what  is  right,  submitting  to  nothing  that  is 
wi'ong,  it  needs  no  dinner-table  diplomacy  to  attain  its 
ends,  and  ought  to  be  above  using  it ;  and  as  a  principle 
to  be  reflected  back  upon  its  own  people,  I  think  that 
our  foreign  representatives  should  set  forth  the  simplicity 
and  economy  of  our  government,  rather  than  imitate  the 
luxury  and  extravagance  of  those  whose  institutions  we 
have  set  aside. 

Further,  I  think  that  the  whole  system  of  permanent 
or  resident  ministers,  and  of  permanent  squadrons  among 
civilized  western  nations,  only  relics  of  the  necessities  of 
a  past  age,  and  now  productive  of  more  evil  and  difficulty 
than  good.  In  our  country  the  diplomatic  path  is  one  of 
tjiose  which  leads  to  political  elevation,  and  all  who  have 
the  opportunity  are  anxious  to  tread  it.  Hence,  when  a 
minister  or  naval  commander  finds  himself  upon  a  station 
where  things  are  quiet,  and  gUding  along  peaceably,  he 
feels  that  he  is  stagnating,  and  rather  than  do  this  ho  is 
tempted  to  raise  a  breeze  of  his  own  ;  to  cultivate  a  crop 
of  noxious  weeds  that  he  may  show  his  skill  in  foiling 
them  beneath  his  diplomatic  scythe.  Flying  squadrons  ; 
and  foreign  ministers  only  as  occasions  arose  for  their 
need,  would  take  much  from  the  motives  to  discord,  and 


382  IN     CHINA. 

tend  to  the  world's  peace ;   but,  as  an  unhappy  result, 
there  would  be  fewer  places  for  office-seekers. 

Notwithstanding  such  views  of  the  manner  in  which  our 
pacific  and  military  relations  vnth  civilized  nations  should 
be  maintained,  1  make  China  an  exception.  I  now  advo- 
cate that  the  United  States  be  materially  rej^resented  in 
China  by  an  imposing  official  residence  and  squadron ; 
that  here,  unless  we  are  to  be  admitted  to  Pekin,  should 
be  the  residence  of  the  United  States  minister  or  com- 
missioner, and  not  down  in  the  Portuguese  settlement  at 
Macao,  as  far  from  the  Emperor  of  China  as  he  can  well 
get.  The  consul  should  be  fitted  for  the  complicated 
duties  we  have  seen  to  be  continually  pressing  upon  him, 
and  should  have  a  court-house  and  jail  on  the  official 
grounds.  These  external  displays  of  power  are  necessary 
to  impress  a  people  who  can  not  read  about  us,  can  not 
comprehend  our  political  position,  and  who  regard  an 
absence  of  state  and  display  as  the  confession  of  imbecility 
and  humility. 

I  have  recently  heard  an  anecdote  related,  I  am  not 
sure  of  its  truth,  that  the  French  consul  was  expatiating 
to  the  Taou  Tai  upon  the  greatness  and  power  of  the 
French  nation — pointed  to  its  territorial  extent,  and  spoke 
of  its  great  navy.  The  Taou  Tai  replied  :  "  It  was  strange 
the  representative  of  so  great  a  nation  should  reside  in 
Shanghae,  in  so  small  a  house  ;"  yet  the  French  consulate 
Avas  a  palace  to  that  of  the  United  States. 

To  facilitate  our  diplomatic  relations  with  the  Chinese, 
we  should  have  properly  trained  interpreters  of  our  own, 
and  not  be  dependent  upon  the  Chinese,  who  will  never 
translate  an  unwelcome  truth  to  a  superior  among  them- 
selves. Our  interpreters  also  ought  to  be  acquainted,  not 
only  with  the  colloquial  dialect,  but  with  the  j^hilosophy 
and  literature  of  the  Chinese  mandaiin  language.  So  far,  we 
have  found  our  interpreters  only  among  the  missionaries. 


SOO-CHAU,      THE     PARIS     OF     CHINA.      383 

On  the  morning  following  the  night  upon  which  I  had 
wi'itten  the  foregoing,  I  witnessed  a  large  gronp  of  Chi- 
namen in  the  yard  in  much  commotion,  two  of  their 
commoner  sort  of  sedan  chairs,  and  two  wretched,  rowdy- 
looking  foreigners  in  charge  of  the  marshal  of  the  con- 
sulate. 

A  most  barbarous  murder  had  been  committed  on  the 
preceding  evening  upon  a  respectable,  unoffending  Chi- 
nese mechanic.  Upon  resisting  some  insult  oifered  his 
family,  these  fellows  had  gone  off,  collected  a  band,  and, 
returning,  murdered  the  man,  and  mutilated  him  in  the 
most  savage  manner.  Such  are  the  incidents  by  which 
we  are  to  jjreserve  the  kindly  feeling  of  the  Chinese. 


XXXII. 

SOO-OHAU,    THE     PARIS    OF    CHINA. 

Oi^  Sunday  night,  September  29th,  after  attending  ser- 
vice at  the  American  Episcopal  mission,  I  went  with  Mr. 
Jenkins,  the  interj^reter  to  the  United  States  consulate, 
on  board  of  his  boat  for  a  hap-hazard  trip  into  the  interior 
for  a  few  days. 

The  neighborhood  of  Tzang  Hai,  above  tlie  ocean,  or, 
as  we  call  it,  Shanghae,  is  that  part  of  China  which  for- 
eigners can  visit  with  most  impunity,  and  here  they  do  so 
constantly,  extending  their  journeys  to  hundreds  of  miles. 
Indeed,  some  have  rented  houses  at  a  distance  of  seventy 
miles  from  the  city,  and  reside  there  Avith  their  families. 

There  are  certain  points  which  are  so  habitually  re- 
sorted to  by  foreigners  that  no  difficulty  occurs  in  regard 
to  them.  Our  object,  however,  was  to  reach  the  great 
city  of  Soo-chau,  about  eighty-two  miles  from  Shanghae. 
It  is   distinguished   for   its   fine   and  ricli  work   in   art, 


384  IN    CHINA. 

aiid  for  the  extent,  variety,  and  elegance  of  its  dis- 
sipation. 

Our  friendly  relations  with  the  authorities  at  Shanghae 
would  seem  to  warrant  the  exj^ectation  that  wo  might  go 
under  their  sanction  ;  but  this  had  been  tried  before,  and 
failed  from  their  unwillingness  to  take  the  responsibility 
of  any  unknown  and  mystical  vagaries  of  which  foreigners 
might  be  guilty,  or  ignorant  trouble  in  which  they  might 
involve  themselves. 

They  are  simply  very  weU  disposed,  very  obliging,  dis- 
posed to  be  courteous  personally,  but  do  not  hke  to  give 
an  official  endorsement  upon  a  venture,  the  extent  and 
risks  of  which  they  do  not  comprehend.  "  Never  mind 
any  permission,  you  go — maybe  they  will  not  interrupt 
you,  or  send  you  back ;  and  if  they  do,  that's  all."  It 
was  one  of  those  things  to  be  winked  at,  not  permitted. 

"  Our  boat,"  the  style  of  conveyance  in  which  this  kind 
of  traveling  is  generally  done,  merits  singling  out,  by  a 
description,  from  the  many-shaped  and  purposed  boats 
which  course  the  Chinese  waters.  In  the  first  place,  it 
was  of  a  bright,  pale,  clear,  inviting  color,  being  that  of 
the  natural  wood,  varnished.  Its  general  shape  was  that 
of  a  double  triangle — an  aj^ex  of  four  feet  broad  making 
the  bow,  and  widening  for  two  thirds  of  the  length,  and 
then  narrowing  to  six  feet  from  the  stern.  It  was  nearly 
forty  feet  long,  by  eleven  wide,  and  drew  six  inches  of 
water.  About  twenty  feet  of  the  body,  or  centre  of  the 
boat,  was  inclosed  and  roofed  over  with  an  arching  roof, 
like  a  canal  boat,  and  this  was  divided  into  three  apart- 
ments— that  nearest  the  bow,  a  miniature  dining-room 
with  a  miniature  table,  all  leaves,  to  drop  and  be  out 
of  the  way,  and  the  two  side  seats  could  be  made  two 
roughing,  picnic  berths  for  any  extra  passengers.  But 
the  main  sleeping  apartment  was  the  central  division,  with 
two  roomy  berths  resting  on  capacious  sets  of  drawers, 


SOO-CHAU,     THE     PAKIS      OF     CUINA,      385 

and  with  provisions  for  making  the  whole  breadth  of  the 
apartment  one  field  bed.  Astern  of  this  was  a  wash-room, 
pantiy,  china  closet,  and  servants'  sleejjing  apartment.  It 
seemed  that  with  Chinese  condensation  of  storage,  every 
plank  in  the  floor,  and  around  the  seats  of  the  apart- 
ments, covei'ed  some  snug  stowhole.  The  bow  and  stern, 
about  five  feet  forward,  and  ten  or  twelve  aft,  were 
decked  over,  the  former  making  a  place  for  comfortable 
dry  stowage,  and  the  latter  giving  all  the  accommodations 
above  and  below,  for  the  four  crew,  the  cook  and  the 
kitchen ;  and  for  woi'king  the  wonderful  scull,  or  propeller, 
which  is  the  great  motive  power  in  all  these  boats,  large 
and  small.  The  flat,  arching  roof  of  our  apartments  was 
made  water-tight  by  a  covering  of  black  tarred  matting. 

The  whole  arrangement  was  so  commodious,  snug  and 
comfortable,  that  it  hardly  allowed  room  for  the  excite- 
ment of  privation  and  adventure.  There  was  no  chance 
to  show  one's  make-shift  abilities  or  cheerful  endurance 
of  discomfort. 

We  slept  on  board,  so  as  to  be  able  to  take  advantage 
of  the  first  flood  tide  of  the  morning  ;  and  we  did  so  on 
the  morning  of  the  27th,  at  five  o'clock.  A  mizzHng, 
gray  morning.  We  had  slept  our  sleep  among  the  crowd 
of  junks  ofi"  the  cathedral  of  Tonkadoo,  and  the  matin 
bells  were  calling  the  worshipers  as  we  loosed  our  sail  to 
the  morning  fair  wind,  and  gave  our  hull  to  the  flood 
tide.  We  had  a  sail  and  a  mast  on  our  light  roof,  and 
queer  affairs  they  were.  Two  side  stanchions  ascended 
from  the  lower  and  more  substantial  part  of  the  vessel, 
and  rose  six  inches  above  the  roof;  upon  these  was  fast- 
ened, across  the  roof,  a  strong  piece  of  timber,  and  resting 
on  a  pivot,  on  this  beam,  so  as  to  be  elevated  or  de^jrcssed 
as  occasion  required,  Avas  a  triangle  of  two  legs,  which 
formed  our  must.  Wlieii  raised,  a  stay  from  tlie  apex, 
hooked  into  the  bow,  kept  it  from  falling  aft,  and  a  piece 

17 


886  IN    CHINA. 

of  wood,  leading  from  each  leg  of  the  mast  to  the  stay, 
kept  it  from  pitching  forward. 

"We  were  amid  a  crowd  as  we  glided  up  the  river.  It 
seemed  to  be  a  thronged  highway  of  junks,  with  their 
brown,  tan-colored  sails.  In  one  group  ahead,  I  counted 
seventy,  and  there  were  other  groups  on  every  side  of  us. 
Sometimes  we  would  be  among  a  crowd  of  them,  and  I 
feared  that  one  or  tAvo  heavy  fellows  bearing  down  upon 
us  must  crush  us,  but  just  as  the  crash  was  coming,  these 
boats  would  glide  by  each  other  as  if  by  a  magic  touch, 
or,  at  most,  there  would  be  but  a  slight  brush.  Loud 
and  apparently  confused  shouts  of  the  Chinamen  in  each 
boat  seemed  to  be  a  necessary  part  of  the  movement, 
though,  as  they  stood  with  poles  in  their  hands,  to  ward 
off  the  impending  shock,  and  without  anger  in  their 
expression,  I  concluded  that  the  cries  were  only  part  of 
the  system.  They  are  wonderful  boatmen,  these  Chi- 
nese, but  why  should  they  not  be  ?  Why  should  not  the 
bird  fly,  or  the  fish  sA\dm  ? — born  in  a  boat,  live  in  a 
boat,  die  in  a  boat.  One  of  those  which  came  rushing 
down  upon  us,  had  no  one  it,  visible,  but  an  old  man  at 
the  helm,  and  a  child  standing  amidships.  I  thought 
they  must  certainly  come  into  colUsion  vpith  us,  but 
neither  the  old  man  nor  little  boy  seemed  in  the  least 
embarrassed.  Just  as  she  seemed  about  to  strike,  the 
boy  loosened  a  string,  a  lee-board  dropped  down  the  side 
of  the  boat,  her  lee-way  was  at  once  arrested,  and  sh5 
ranged  up  alongside  of  us,  just  failing  to  touch. 

The  banks  of  the  river  were  as  animated  with  life  and 
the  struggle  for  food,  as  the  river  itself.  Hunger  feeding 
hunger;  the  hunger  of  man  guiding  his  intellect  into  con- 
flict with  hunger  and  instinct.  All  along  both  banks, 
rising  and  falling,  were  the  great  baUoon-looking  fisher- 
men's nets.  These  nets  are  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet 
square,  and  suspended  from  the  'four  extremities  of  two 


SOO-CHAU,     THE     PARIS     OP     CHINA.     387 

immense  bamboo  bows,  crossing  each  other  at  right 
angles.  A  platform  is  built  out  on  a  frame  a  little  way 
into  the  river ;  the  junction  of  the  bows  is  suspended 
from  the  apex  of  a  triangle  of  two  bamboos,  which,  jDass- 
sing  horizontally  to  the  j^latform,  is  pivoted  to  a  roller  on 
its  end ;  from  this  roller  another  similar  triangle  rises  into 
the  air  and  has  a  weight  at  its  upper  end  to  counterbal- 
ance that  of  the  net  and  its  fixtures.  A  rope  passes  from 
the  point  of  the  triangle  which  supports  the  net,  up  over 
that  which  rises  from  the  roller,  and  so  down  to  a  little 
mat  shed  on  the  platform,  ha  which  sits  the  fisherman. 
A  child  by  this  rope,  and  the  intervening  levers,  can  raise 
the  net  from  beneath  the  water  where  it  has  been  wait- 
ing its  finny  prey.  The  business  this  morning  did  not 
appear  to  be  a  profitable  one.  For  miles  and  hours  I 
watched  the  rising  and  falling  of  these  nets,  and  saw  but 
one  tiny  fish  taken.  The  fishermen,  however,  do  not  lead 
a  lazy,  fruitless  life,  as,  while  waiting  for  their  prey,  they 
are  busy  in  some  other  handicraft,  net-weaving,  or  some 
kindred  pursuit.  But  as  the  life  is  favorable  to  contem- 
plation, and  Chinese  democracy  takes  its  great  men  from 
all  ranks,  it  may  be  hoped  that  these  mat  sheds  are  ripen- 
ing some  future  Chinese  philosopher  and  reformer.  As  the 
day  advanced  we  met  many  boats  laden  with  rice  straw, 
neatly  stacked  and  thatched.  The  shores,  too,  had  a  pleas- 
ant, rural  look — snug,  one-storied  farm-houses,  aad  many 
neat-looking,  thatched-roof  barracks  standing  through  the 
fields.  About  noon  we  passed  the  town  of  Ming  Hong, 
a  neat-lookhig  village  of  about  thirty  thousand  inhabitants, 
and  quite  an  extensive  rice  depot. 

At  dark  we  came  to  the  large  town  on  Pine  river,  of 
Soong  Kong,  a  place  of  more  than  half  a  million  of  inhab- 
itants. Our  way  lay  l>y  canal  through  a  portion  of  the 
city.  We  were  now  thirty-four  miles  from  Shanghae. 
An  hour  was  passed  at  fSoong  Kong  while  our  men  jiur- 
chased  and  ate  their  supper. 


888  IN     CHINA. 

It  was  still  misty  and  rainy  on  the  morning  of  the  28th. 
"We  were  in  a  clean  creek,  or  canal,  of  about  one  hundred 
feet  width,  passing  through  broad  and  heavily-grown  rice 
fields,  with  comfortable-looking  farm-houses  and  their  ac- 
companying graves.  Everywhere  on  our  journey  were 
seen  those  constant  dots  on  Chmese  scenery,  graves.  The 
naked  coflBn,  the  matted  grave,  the  bricked-up  and  tile- 
covered  cofHn,  with  a  small  grove  around  it — there  they 
lie,  through  the  field  and  on  the  banks. 

The  wind  was  now  ahead,  and  two  of  the  crew,  with  a 
long  cord  about  the  size  of  the  little  finger,  made  fast  to  the 
apex  of  our  triangular  mast,  were  on  shore  tracking  the 
boat.  We  were  ajiproaching  an  old  and  crumbhng  arched 
stone  bridge,  just  by  a  large,  yellow- washed  temj)le  and 
a  village.  Some  six  or  eight  miles  behind  us  were  the 
hills,  a  series  of  small  mountains  about  forty  miles  from 
Shanghae,  and  ahead  arose  a  pagoda,  that  of  the  city  of 
Chiug-jjoo.  At  this  place  we  arrived  at  a  little  before 
eight  o'clock,  and  remained  there  two  hours,  to  market  and 
breakfast.  The  clear,  creek-like  canal  we  were  traveling 
formed  the  broad  moat  of  the  city ;  and  on  one  side  of 
us,  with  a  few  feet  of  greensward  and  canal  track  inter- 
vening, rose  the  dark  city  wall,  here  and  there  hanging 
out  a  green  banner  of  clinging  shrub  and  climbing  vine. 
The  wall  was  of  the  black  brick  of  China,  laid  upon  a 
granite  foundation,  all  smoothly  laid,  and  the  regular  line 
of  its  upper  edge  was  a  succession  of  loop-holes.  There 
were  land  gates  and  water  gates,  the  latter  passing  under 
arches  into  the  city.  The  narrow  ledge  of  land  interven- 
ing between  the  wall  and  the  water  was  here  and  there 
stolen  by  some  pious  Chinaman,  too  poor  to  buy  elsewhere 
the  ground  upon  which  to  place  the  cofiin  of  his  father. 

Our  boatmen  brought  our  boat  up  alongside  the  bank, 
just  where  a  drawbridge,  opposite  a  city  gate,  crossed 
the  stream.     We  came  here  to  eat  our  breakfast ;  but  in 


SOO-CHAU,     THE     PARIS     OF     CHINA.     389 

the  angle  between  the  bridge  and  the  wall,  there  was  a 
lot  of  dead  squatters,  rich  in  corruption,  if  they  were 
never  rich  in  any  thing  before,  and  sovereigns  of  the  soil 
by  the  right  of  occupation,  and  the  grace  of  antique 
usages,  but  as  a  crowd  of  courtier  flies  buzzed  around 
some  of  the  fresher-looking  colBns,  I  insisted  upon  our 
boatmen  changing  to  a  clearer  spot  of  the  green  bank. 

If  a  man  had  no  other  inducement  to  travel  among  a 
strange  people,  his  vanity  ought  to  be  a  sufficient  incen- 
tive ;  I  mean  by  "  ought,"  would  in  general  have  suffi- 
cient power.  It  may  be  very  disagi-eeably  so,  but  a 
man  under  such  circumstances  is  individualized  and  great 
for  the  moment.  This  momentary  distinction  is  often  the 
only  pleasure  of  the  kind  which  most  of  us  know,  and 
therefore  we  have  a  natural  right  to  make  the  most  of  it. 
How  often  at  home  and  abroad  do  we  figure  in  "  fuss 
and  feather"  parades  and  processions,  attracting  the  eyes 
of  the  gaping  crowd  by  our  decorations,  and  carrying 
ourselves  more  proudly  because  of  this  popular  gaze,  al- 
though those  who  thus  tickle  our  vanity  never  saw  us  be- 
fore— see  us  only  for  a  moment — never  will  see  us  again 
— would  not  know  us  if  they  did,  and  that  which  attract- 
ed them  is  no  essential  part  of  ourselves,  and  would  have 
the  same  efiect  upon  any  other  man.  An  Indian  without 
the  adventitious  aid  of  paint  and  feathers  must  feel  him- 
self by  and  of  himself  something  when  he  is  the  centre 
of  a  following  crowd  in  a  civilized  city.  Thus  as  the  va- 
rious boat  laborers  and  boat  households  came  along  in  their 
indiffi3rent,  listless,  every-day  manner,  it  certainly  was  a 
tribute  to  one's  importance  to  see  the  whole  change  of  ex- 
pression which  came  over  the  tenants  of  these  boats  when 
they  saw  us  standing  in  the  bow  of  ours,  or  with  our  lieads 
through  its  windows.  The  men  would  light  up  to  a  grin, 
break  from  silence  into  speech,  and  the  women  and  chil- 
dren crowd  the  openings  of  the  boat  and  peep  timidly  forth. 


390  IN     CHINA. 

Upon  leaving  Ching-poo  we  turned  suddenly  from  the 
■wall  into  a  narrow  canal,  on  eacli  side  of  which  was  a  thickly- 
built  village.  Here  we  were  "  distinguished  strangers." 
The  people  in  the  front  line  of  houses  came  out  into  the 
street,  abandoning  all  occupations  ;  the  children  looked  at 
us  with  an  aj^palled  fascination,  but  clung  to  their  mothers' 
garments.  Most  families  were  at  their  breakfasts — true 
enthusiasts  rushed  away  from  all,  careful  and  prudent 
people  brought  their  bowl  of  rice  and  chop-sticks  in  their 
hands,  but  suspended  operations  while  they  studied  us. 
The  mere  sensualist  and  gourmand,  who  had  no  taste  for 
the  sublimity  of  novelty,  was  content  to  come  only  to  the 
door,  and  yviih.  bowl  and  sticks  to  his  mouth,  toss  the 
snowy  grain  down  bis  cavernous  throat  while  he  took  an 
indifferent  look  at  us.  Such  people  preferred  food  for  their 
stomachs  to  that  for  their  imaginations — the  humble  com- 
forts of  home  to  any  foreign  wonders.  They  wounded  our 
egotism,  and  we  have  a  reason  for  prophesying  evil  of 
them ;  we  read  their  characters  and  careers  in  a  single 
glance — "  very  slow  bellies."  Those  benevolent  individ- 
uals who  delight  in  sharing  their  blessings  with  others,  by 
a  shout  or  a  message  called  out  their  friends  in  the  back 
settlements,  who  came  down  the  side  lanes  to  look  and 
wonder.  TVe  had  the  general  distinction  of  being  foreign- 
ers, and  in  the  sight  of  these  shaven-crown,  smooth-haired, 
long-queued,  smooth-chinned  Celestials,  we  had  the  speci- 
fic attractions  of  bushy,  frizzled  heads,  and  bushy,  grizzled 
beards. 

Just  after  passing  through  this  village  several  small 
boats  sculled  rapidly  by  us,  one  man  in  the  stern,  and 
along  both  sides  and  the  bow  sat  grave  and  dignified  rows 
of  long  hooked-beak,  dirty,  dark-looking  birds,  about  the 
size  of  well-sized  ducks,  longer  and  narrower  in  the  bodies. 
This  was  an  illustration  of  the  further  encroachments  of 
intellect,  making  a  trained  servant  of  the  appetite  and 


SOO-CHAU,     THE     PARIS     OF     CHINA.         391 

instinct  of  an  inferior  animal.  These  were  the  fishing 
cormorants,  going  out  with  their  masters  for  a  day's 
work  and  sport,  Ai-rived  upon  the  fishing  ground,  the 
unfeathered  biped  strikes  the  water  with  his  bamboo 
wand,  and  over  go  his  phnned  associates,  down  under 
the  water  and  up  again  -^dth  the  struggling  silver-scaled 
prey  in  their  beaks,  that  is,  if  they  were  lucky  or  skillful 
enough  to  find  it.  No  matter  how  many  boats  there  may 
be  present,  or  how  great  the  intermingling  of  cormorants, 
each  one  returns  without  mistake  to  his  owner's  craft, 
and  deposits  his  prize. 

Various  ingeniously  contrived  devices,  wares,  labyrinth- 
ine avenues  of  bamboo,  with  bamboo  stakes  across  the 
stream,  over  which  our  boat  scraped  and  cleaned  her  bot- 
tom, presented  modes  of  fishing  adapted  to  the  tastes 
of  the  fisherman,  and  the  habits  of  the  fished  for.  Not 
only  was  Chinese  energy  at  work  upon  the  animal  life  of 
the  water,  but  some  small  families,  a  young  man  and  his 
wife,  for  instance,  who  had  just  set  up  in  love  and  matri- 
mony, with  little  other  capital,  were  busy  in  their  small 
boat  in  transferring  the  vegetation  from  beneath  the 
waters  to  the  surface  of  the  soil.  These  boats,  in  the 
distance,  seemed  to  be  laden  with  heaps  of  fresh-cut 
green  grass.  It  was  the  weed  from  the  bottom  of  the 
stream.  Two  slender  bamboos  are  lastened  together  as 
a  pair  of  long-handled,  straight  forceps,  and  being  passed 
to  the  bottom,  grasps  a  few  fibres,  and  then  by  twisting 
round  and  round,  a  mass  of  the  long  green  hair  is  torn 
from  the  heads  of  the  river  gods,  or  whatever  else  it 
grows  upon  in  the  damp  depths  of  the  stream. 

All  this  day  would  be  called  a  cheerless^ one  by  those 
who  measure  cheer  by  the  presence  of  sunshine  and  the 
absence  of  moisture  in  the  atmospliere.  But  I  could  not 
get  up  any  kind  of  gloom  myself.  These  broad  rice 
fields  seemed  to  be  laughing  with  fatness,  and  nodding 


392  I  N     C  U  I  N  A  . 

wavy  -welcomes  as  we  passed  tlieir  borders ;  the  people 
seemed  to  think  us  such  funny  fellows — they  grinned  so 
cheerily ;  Ave  were  such  a  cause  of  luirth  to  others,  that 
how  could  w^e  be  less  than  merry  ourselves?  True,  it 
was  very  perseveringly  rainy,  very  head-windy,  and  very 
muddy,  so  that  there  Avas  no  getting  out  of  the  boat  for 
a  walk,  and  then  our  poor  boatmen  had  to  track — track — 
track  on  the  tow  path  all  the  day  through  the  rain  and 
through  the  black  mud;  but  if  there  had  been  no  exter- 
nal novelties  to  attract  our  attention,  we  had,  among  our 
small  number  of  Chinamen,  two  originals.  Ayouk  was 
our  i^ersonal  coolie,  cook,  chambermaid,  valet  de  chambre, 
comprador,  etc.  He  wore  an  old  pair  of  what  had  been 
thick  white-soled,  embossed  black  velvet  shoes,  now 
down  at  the  heel,  and  only  used  for  out  on  deck,  being 
reverently  put  off  when  he  entered  our  apartment.  He 
then  came  in  his  stocking,  or  rather  leo-cring-,  feet — cotton 
leggings  which  had  a  trace  and  tradition  of  once  having 
been  white ;  these  met  and  overlapjjed  at  the  knees,  with 
their  gaping,  boot-hke  tops,  a  pair  of  short  Nankeen 
trowsers,  likewise  of  a  traditional  color,  but  most  likely 
yellow,  and  leggings  and  trowsers  were  banded  together 
with  a  pair  of.  frayed  black  velvet  garters,  with  embroi- 
dered white  satin  centres.  Overhanging  all  these  was  a 
loose,  large  sleeved,  toga-throated,  faded  blue  Nankeen 
jacket,  or  compromise  between  shirt  and  jacket,  fastening 
with  loops  over  the  remaining  few  dingy  brass  bell  but- 
tons which,  in  its  days  of  freshness,  had  brightened  it. 
His  head  was  shaven  a  breadth  of  two  inches  all  around, 
and  the  remainder  of  his  long  hair  was  plaited  into  a 
queue  mingled  with  the  white  cotton  threads  of  mourning, 
showing  that  he  had  lost  some  friend.  This  black  and 
white  plait  of  cotton  and  hair  he  wore  as  a  coronal  around 
his  head.  Ayouk  was  a  philosopher  and  a  student  of 
human  nature,  and  seemed  so  satisfied  with  himself  that 


SOO-CHAU,     THE     PARIS     OF     CHINA.  393 

he  was  generally  good-humored  and  quite  fond  of  pithy 
remarks.  In  his  many  offices  he  had  much  to  do,  and 
got  through  it  all  by  that  great  lever,  an  adhesion  to  plan 
and  system.  He  had  clearly  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
we  foreigners  were  a  very  impatient  people,  that  our  im- 
patience was  a  gusty  wind  that  should  not  turn  him  from 
his  course,  that  we  had  certain  periodic  wants  recurring 
with  each  hour  of  the  day,  and,  therefore,  however  long 
and  loudly  we  might  call  "Ayouk,"  "Ayouk,"  he  only 
hallooed  back  in  louder  tones  until  he  had  got  ready  that 
thing  which  he  supposed  was  fitted  to  that  hour,  when  in 
he  came  with  a  smile  of  satisfaction,  and  was  generally  so 
correct  as  to  divert  the  rising  want  and  anger,  or  get 
plenty  of  time  to  meet  the  former.  Thus  by  having  his 
own  way  he  did  best  for  himself  and  for  us.  Such  was 
"Ayouk,"  a  man  worthy  in  his  vocation,  and  the  cause 
of  mirth  on  a  gloomy  day,  or  of  vexation  on  a  bright 
one,  according  as  he  was  viewed. 

Our  other  original  was  Ang,  or  son  Number  Five, 
such  being  the  way  in  which  some  jDarents  arithmetically 
name  their  children.  This  man  was  an  illustration  of  the 
power  of  fashion.  An  umbrella  at  all  times,  and  a  lan- 
tern even  on  moonlight  nights,  is  essential  to  Chinese 
respectability.  Ang  was  the  head  man  on  our  track, 
that  is,  the  leading  man  at  the  rope.  When  the  two  men 
jumped  ashore  to  take  the  tow  line,  the  other  one  would 
do  so  in  his  bare  feet,  and  with  no  useless  jjrotectors 
against  mud  and  rain.  But  Ang  must  first  lash  on  a 
pair  of  straw  sandals ;  these,  however,  might  have  been 
of  some  use  as  a  protection  to  his  feet,  but  under  his  arm 
always  was  an  umbrella,  an  old  umbrella  made  of  paper, 
but  split  in  two  or  three  places  so  that  one  tliird  of  it 
was  gone,  and  son  Number  Five,  as  he  bowed  himself 
forward  and  pulled  at  the  tow  rope,  had  littlo  protection 
from  the  driving  rain ;  but  still  he  had  his  umbrella,  and 

17* 


394  IN     CHINA. 

the  ludicrous  combination  could  but  be  an  amusement  to 
the  folk  inside. 

The  niglit  came  on  so  gusty  and  adverse  that  Ave  tied 
up  alongside  of  a  cotton  field,  and  lay  suugly  there,  all 
hands  sound  asleeji,  until  the  break  of  the  following  day. 

September  30th. — When  I  first  went  out  of  the  cabin 
my  morning  salutation  was  qua,  qua  from  a  crow.  Upon 
looking  up  I  saw  a  very  respectable  and  portly  looking 
individual  in  glossy  black  velvet,  with  a  broad  white 
cravat  around  his  neck,  and  I  saw,  too,  that  he  spoke  to 
me  from  the  heights  of  a  grove  of  lofty  trees,  and  there- 
fore had  two  beautiful  sightsin  one  look.  I  had  more  ; 
with  my  vision  thus  elevated,  and  looking  beyond  the 
present,  it  rested  in  the  misty  distance  upon  a  mountain, 
at  least  a  rocky,  forest-grown  hill  six  hundred  feet  high, 
with  a  terraced  pagoda  springing  out  of  its  summit. 

This  was  the  hill  and  pagoda  of  Kwan  Shan,  and  the 
hill  is  not  only  the  distinguishing  feature,  but  gives  the 
title  Shan.  This  is  a  city  of  nearly  half  a  million  of  in- 
habitants, and  we  passed  through  its  suburbs,  agaiu  run- 
ning the  gauntlet  of  gaze  and  wondering  excitement, 
about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning.  As  usual,  a  great  many 
comphmentary  remarks  were  made  upon  us — of  course 
complimentary,  as  they  attributed  to  us  supernatural  at- 
tributes, the  only  one  translated  to  me  being  "  White 
Devils,"  and  modesty  shrunk  from  any  further  attempt 
to  get  at  the  hidden  meaning  of  the  comments  we  ehcited. 

Gray  as  this  drizzly  morning,  gloomy  as  the  old  graves 
around,  and  crumbling  like  this  vast  empire  beneath  the 
hand  of  Time  and  the  influences  of  Heaven,  three  granite 
monuments,  statues,  sprung  upon  my  sight  from  amid 
the  tall  grass  and  rice  fields,  just  before  we  reached  Kwan 
Shan.  One  was  that  of  a  horse,  saddled  and  bridled. 
He  stood  erect  and  perfect;  and,  turnmg  him  fi-om  his 
original  pagan  interpretation,  he  may  stand  as  the  emblem 


SOO-CHAU,     THE     PAEIS     OF     CHINA.  395 

of  the  coming  man.  A  second  was  a  colossal,  robed 
priest — colossal  it  was,  but  the  head  was  gone ;  a  fit  em- 
blem of  the  future  as  of  the  past — a  colossal  paganism 
decapitated  by  an  unseen  power ;  and  the  third  monu- 
ment was  overthrowai,  and  lay  mingling  its  elements  with 
the  earth  from  which  sprung  the  green  vegetation.  It  was 
a  bearded  goat,  still  embleming  the  animal  existence  and 
hoary  sensuality  which  is  to  fall  with  decapitated  pagan- 
ism, and  give  birth  to  a  newer  and  fresher  and  purer  life. 
We  provisioned  at  Kwan  Shan. 

Before  getting  to  this  city  we  had  the  creek  pretty 
much  to  ourselves.  Only  here  and  there  a  boat  disputed 
it  with  us ;  but  now,  of  various  forms  and  sizes  and  pur- 
poses, they  crowded  the  way.  About  twelve,  one  of  the 
beautiful  but  light,  lofty-arched  stone  bridges  was  in  the 
distance  before  us,  and  at  one  we  Avere  np  with  it,  borne 
by  a  fresh  breeze,  and  to  the  small  city  of  Eding — about 
twenty  thousand  inhabitants.  In  the  channel  way  we 
saw  for  the  first  time  the  beautifully-carved  decorative 
gilded  flower  or  pleasure-boats  of  Soo-chau,  showing  that 
we  were  approaching  this  point  of  luxury  and  dissipation. 
Several  very  fair,  genteel  and  handsomely  dressed  fe- 
males were  on  board  these  boats. 

I  omitted  to  mention  among  the  incidents  of  the  morn- 
ing, that  while  we  were  lying  at  Kwan  Shan,  a  large  boat 
similar  to  our  own,  but  handsomely  decorated  with  gild- 
ing and  lanterns,  came  tracking  down  the  tow  path.  It 
bore  a  mandarin's  flag,  and  as  we  lay  just  in  her  way,  I 
supposed  we  would  be  cleared  out ;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
the  boatmen  took  in  their  line,  entered  into  friendly  con- 
versation with  ours,  and  sculled  around  us.  The  inmates 
of  the  boat,  chiefly  females,  showed  the  usual  curiosity  in 
regard  to  us.  One  of  them,  who  stood  boldly  outside  on 
the  open  stern  of  the  boat,  I  at  first  took,  from  her  handsome 
appearance  and  neat  dress,  with  jeweled  coronal,  to  be  one 


396  IN    CHINA. 

of  the  ladies  of  the  family.  But  as  sbe  laid,  though 
sportively,  hold  of  the  sculling  oar,  and  talked  familiarly 
with  an  old  woman  who  sat  by  knitting,  I  infer  she  was 
only  a  servant  girl.  We  supposed  from  the  flag  that  it 
was  the  family  of  the  new  Taou  Tai  going  to  Shanghae. 

Every  one  who  knows  any  thiijg  about  us  at  Shanghae, 
knows  that  we  drink  the  waters  of  an  opaque  muddy 
stream,  a  solution  of  all  imaginable  filth  and  dead  China- 
men. It  was  therefore  refreshing,  on  the  second  day  out, 
to  see  the  water  assuming  a  clean,  clear  green  appearance. 
It  was  new  and  refreshing  to  look  upon.  But  at  three 
o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  last  day  of  September,  we 
entered  upon  a  beautiful  lake.  It  was  about  two  miles 
wide  where  we  crossed  it,  and  the  road,  or  tow  path,  in 
its  whole  length,  passed  over  a  granite  causeway.  How 
long  the  lake  is  I  do  not  know,  but  its  clear  waters  were 
liquid  emerald. 

At  half  past  five  in  the  evening  we  came  to  alongside 
of  the  bank  in  a  subui'b  of  Soo-chau. 

Soo-chau — the  Paris,  as  it  is  called,  of  China — with  ten 
miles  in  circumference  of  the  walls,  like  London,  is  as 
nothing  to  the  Soo-chau  without  the  walls.  One  of  these 
extra  mural  addenda  is  said  to  extend  ten  miles  in  every 
direction.  Situated  on  the  waters  of  the  Great  Lake,  it 
is  throughout  intersected  and  traversed  by  broad  and 
thronged  water  avenues,  arched  over  with  lofty  stone 
bridges.  Two  millions  of  people,  at  the  very  least,  are 
here  gathered  together,  engaged  in  the  turmoil  of  Chi- 
nese thrift,  and  the  sj)lendid  excesses  of  Chinese  dissi- 
pation. 

Whenever,  in  Shanghae,  I  have  been  attracted  by  any 
beautiful  piece  of  embroidery,  of  carved  or  lacquered 
work,  of  silk  or  satin,  I  was  told  it  came  from  Soo-chau  ; 
and  if  by  any  chance  I  happened  to  see  a  fair,  gracefully- 
formed,  pleasant-expressioned  girl,  she   too   came  from 


SOO-CHAU,     THE     PARIS     OF     CHINA.  397 

Soo-clian.  There  was  one  in  Shanghae  for  whom  her  hus- 
band paid  three  thousand  dollars,  as  his  evidence  of  his 
appreciation  of  her  beauty;  and  there  were  several  others 
of  the  Soo-chau  chizeling.  Even  their  local  dialect  is 
said  to  flow  in  softened  tones,  and  to  be  that  chosen  for 
songs  and  tales  of  love. 

All  these  excellences  and  attractions  were  sustained 
by  our  experience  as  far  as  it  went.  A  Chinese  maxim 
says,  that  earthly  hapjiiness  consists  in  being  born  in 
Soo-chau,  Uving  in  Canton,  and  djdng  in  Lian-chau  ;  the 
first  giving  physical  beauty,  the  second  a  life  of  luxury, 
and  the  third  the  best  coffin  for  the  final  repose  of  the 
body.  The  topograjjhy  of  Soo-chau  is  written  in  forty 
volumes.  My  stay  at  the  j^lace  was  from  the  evening  of 
the  last  of  September  to  noon  of  October  1st,  and  my 
view  of  it  extended  over  seven  industrious  hours.  But 
as  an  inch  of  honest  sample  enables  one  to  judge  the 
whole  bale,  and  the  truth  of  the  character  asserted  for  it, 
so  my  readers  must  put  uj),  as  I  did,  with  my  inch  of 
observation  of  Soo-chau. 

As  we  were  now  two  or  three  days  beyond  any  bounds 
prescribed  by  treaty  for  foreign  travel,  it  became  neces- 
sary that  we  should  not  provoke  any  idle  curiosity,  or 
make  it  the  duty  of  any  zealous  mandarin  to  send  us  back 
in  charge  of  a  file  of  soldiers.  We  therefore  concluded 
the  most  prudent  plan  would  be  to  shut  up  our  windows, 
and  not  expose  ourselves  until  after  dark.  I  will  here  re- 
mark, for  the  benefit  of  all  who  may  be  interested  in  the 
result,  that  I  found  this  lying  hid  from  my  fellow-men, 
with  an  ordinarily  fair  human  conscience,  and  for  only 
two  hours,  so  irksome  a  business,  that  I  can  not  recom- 
mend any  one  to  do  so  with  an  oppressive  crime  as  the 
motive. 

Whilst  wc  were  thus  concealed,  wc  sent  for  the  pro- 
prietor of  one  of  the  small-si/ed  decorated  pleasure  or 


398  IX    c  n  I  X  A  . 

flower-boats,  -which  are  common  in  this  city  of  luxury, 
and  negotiated  with  him  to  take  us  in  his  boat  on  the 
morrow  to  '*  Tiger  Ilill  Mound,"  a  celebrated  temple  and 
pleasure  resort  near  the  city ;  and  also  a  turn  through  the 
citv  within  the  walls,  for  which  we  were  to  pay  him  three 
Mexican  dollars,  and  were  to  bind  ourselves  not  to  land 
or  show  ourselves  after  we  got  within  the  city  proper ; 
and  we  were  to  transfer  ourselves  at  an  early  hour  in  the 
morning,  before  observers  were  about,  from  oui-  boat  to 
his. 

During  this  negotiation,  which,  like  aU  Chinese  bar- 
gains, required  a  great  deal  of  talk,  we  had  the  proof  of 
softened  tone  of  voice  and  amenity  of  expression.  In 
commenting  upon  us  to  our  o'vn  Chinamen,  this  indi- 
vidual, instead  of  calling  us  "  White  Devils,"  spoke  of  us 
respectfully  as  the  "  gentlemen  from  aiar." 

At  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  his  boat  was  alongside 
of  us,  and  quite  a  fancy  afiair  it  was.  Divided  into  three 
apartments  like  our  own,  but  much  smaller — a  short  un- 
covered bow,  an  ante-room  open  in  front,  and  with  two 
ornamental  stools  and  tables ;  our  own  central  apart- 
ment, or  parlor,  with  a  small  mat-covered  settee,  two 
rose-wood  mat-covered  stools,  and  rose-wood  httle  table, 
with  blue-figured  cloth  cotton  cover,  and  under  it  a  brass 
pan  of  coals  for  the  convenience  of  smokers.  Back  of 
this  was  the  open  deck,  for  the  occupancy  of  the  crew  and 
scullers.  The  sides  of  our  apartment  were  of  ornamental 
panel-work  of  fanciful  divisions  filled  in  with  three  layers 
of  transparent  sheU,  hke  ground  glass,  with  the  exception 
of  small  glass  panes,  four  inches  square,  in  the  centre  of 
each  panel — an  eye  for  the  world  without  and  aU  its  do- 
ings, while  nothing  but  its  softened  hght  came  through 
our  sheUs.  A  fringed  crimson  satin  curtain  ornamented 
the  front  of  our  parlor,  while  sliding  doors  shut  it  out 
from  both  back  and  front. 


SOO-CHAU,     THE     PAEIS     OF     CHIKA.        399 

Our  ship's  company  consisted  of  a  voluble,  bland- 
tongued  old  gentleman,  who,  with  a  long  pipe,  occupied 
the  bow,  a  young  man,  two  ladies  and  two  babies,  who 
filled  the  platform  in  the  rear,  and  did  the  sculling  ;  one 
lady  and.  the  man  at  the  oar  at  a  time.  And  so  we  started 
to  glance  at  Soo-chau. 

Soon  after  getting  under  way  I  noticed  that  the  man 
on  the  after  platform  was  neatly  arranging,  one  on  top 
of  another,  some  clean  blue  and  white  cotton  napkins, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  he  opened  the  door  and  passed  in  a 
steaming  roll  wrapped  in  a  white  towel,  and  opening  it, 
he  handed  each  of  us  one  of  the  napkins  smoking  with 
hot  water.  This  was  the  courteous  offer  of  the  means  of 
the  morning  toilet,  the  napkin  being  intended  to  bathe 
the  face.  This  courtesy  was  immediately  followed  by 
covered  porcelain  cups  of  hot  tea  without  milk  or  sugar, 
and  the  leaves  floating  in  the  infusion.  These  were  atten- 
tively replenished  during  the'W'hole  of  our  journey. 

For  several  miles  our  way  lay  along  the  city  wall,  black 
brick,  or  brown  granite,  where  it  could  be  seen,  but  most 
of  it  was  draped,  from  bottom  to  top,  in  close-clinging 
creepers  and  running  vines.  We  were  approaching  what, 
in  the  distance,  appeared  a  thicket  of  junk  masts.  But  we 
were  among  the  marts  for  meeting  the  substantial  wants 
and  necessities  of  this  great  gathering  of  men.  These 
Were  the  signs  of  bamboo  yards  in  which  lay  horizontal 
forests  of  this  valuable  and  universally  useful  gigantic 
grass,  which  on  shore  and  on  the  water,  in  labor  and  in 
literature,  meets  almost  every  necessity  of  a  Chinaman. 
From  these  bamboo  marts,  or  hongs,  we  passed  to  those 
of  the  more  solid  timber  of  the  forest,  which  lay  in  quiet 
rafts,  or  being  picked  and  moved  and  transferred  from  one 
owner  to  the  other  by  the  hands  and  pikes  of  busy  gangs 
of  men.  A  gentleman  curious  in  sucli  matters,  calculated 
that  the  rafted  timber  lying  at  one  time  at  Soo-chau,  laid 


400  IX    en  IN  A. 

end  for  end,  would  extend  from  Shanghae  to  San  Fran- 
cisco. Lime  bongs,  buffiilo  bongs,  and  sbrieks,  yells,  witb 
ear-crusbing  grunts,  tell  us  of  pig  bongs.  From  tbis 
avenue  of  cumbrous  and  miscellaneous  utilities,  we  entered 
upon  one  of  elegant  luxuries  and  superfluities.  Along  tbe 
water  lay  splendid  flower-boats,  gay  witb  carving,  gild- 
ing, paint  and  silk  bangings,  tasteful  witb  vases  of  flowers, 
and  witb  skillful  arrangements  for  sbutting  tbeir  inmates 
to  privacy  witbout  gloom.  ]Many  of  tbese  boats  were 
occupied  by  elegantly  and  bandsomely,  not  tawdrily, 
dressed  girls,  wbo  fully  viudicated  tbe  claim  of  Soo-cbau 
for  tbe  beauty  of  its  women.  Tbere  was  notbing  im- 
modest or  bold  in  tbeir  appearance,  and  yet,  witb  tbeir 
soft,  fair  complexions,  tbey  were  but  as  wbited  sepulcbres, 
tbose  wbose  floating  bouses  were  tbe  gates  of  deatb. 

Tbe  stores  along  tbis  avenue  were  alternations  of  gay 
lacquered  ware,  toy,  picture,  porcelain,  fan  and  flower 
sbops.  Tbese  last  were  very  numerous,  and  witb  tbeir 
green  plants  and  brigbt  flowers,  in  fanciful  vases,  arranged 
on  botb  sides  on  shelves,  gave  a  very  refresbing  and  gay 
character  to  tbe  street.  Tbese  flower  sbops  seemed  to 
be  avenues  to  garden  grounds  back  of  tbem. 

Gliding  for  some  miles  tbrougb  sucb  scenes,  our  water 
avenue  led  out  into  tbe  country  some  little  distance  to  a  bill 
sunnounted  by  a  pagoda — Tiger  Hill  Mound,  Heutsbeu- 
Sban,  Tbis  bill  can  specially  be  called  classic  and  bistoric 
ground.  I  bad  also  a  family  interest  and  connection  witb 
tbis  place,  a  family  connection  not  quite  so  ancient  and  hon- 
orable as  tbat  witb  'Noah  and  Adam,  but  still  sufficiently 
remote  to  bide  original  rascality  in  antique  mistiness, 
wbicb  I  take  to  be  one  of  tbe  secrets  of  value  in  tbe 
oldest  families.  It  appears  tbat  when  tbe  Shemitic  branch 
of  tbe  Wood  family  were  tongue-divided  from  tbeir  Ja- 
phetic cousins  at  the  Babel  mutiny,  their  "  confounded" 
tongues  could   not  pronounce   tbe   final  letter  of  tbeir 


SOO-CHAU,     THE    PAEIS     OF     CHIlSrA.         401 

name,  and  they  called  it  Woo.  Now  most  of  my  journey 
had  been  through  the  kingdom  of  my  Chinese  cousins, 
this  "Woo  family,  of  which,  bi-illiant  Soo-chau  was  their 
capital. 

I  am,  of  course,  bound  to  give  the  most  authentie  ac- 
count of  such  relatives.  It  apj)ears,  then,  that  some  six 
centuries  before  the  Christian  era  one  of  the  kings  of 
Woo  died,  and  was  buried  on  this  hill  where  we  are  now 
standing  ;  and,  what  was  of  more  importance,  three  thou- 
sand two-edged  swords  were  buried  with  him.  Three 
days  after  this  burial  a  white  tiger  was  seen  standing  on 
the  grave  of  this  ancient  worthy,  and  hence  we  have  the 
name  of  "Tiger  Hill  Mound."  Some  three  hundred 
years  after  this  event,  Tsing-sz-wang — he  who  built  the 
great  wall — wanted  these  swords,  and  like  a  prudent  man 
who  looks  after  his  own  business,  he  came  here  and  had 
the  ground  dug  over  in  search  of  them,  but  he  did  not 
find  them.  Of  course  not.  There  can  be  no  doubt  the 
swords  had  been  there,  but  had  passed  away  beneath  the 
rust  of  two  hundred  and  ninety-two  years,  the  exact  pe- 
riod which  had  elapsed  before  the  wall-building  Tsing-sz- 
wang  nme  to  look  for  them,  which  he  did  two  himdred 
and  twenty  years  before  our  era. 

He,  such  a  determined  soldier,  was  of  course  very 
much  irritated  by  the  disappointment,  and  seeing  a  tiger 
standing  in  front  of  the  grave,  drew  his  sword  and  made 
a  death-intended  blow  at  him.  The  tiger  vanished,  and 
the  blow  fell  on  Thousand  Men's  Rock  ;  and  as  I  stood 
upon  the  rock  where  the  mark  of  the  sword  is  still 
pointed  out,  all  this  must  be  true.  Time  rolled  on,  and 
other  and  different  associations  clustered  around  this  re- 
markable place.  About  a  thousand  years  after  tlio  sword 
digging,  a  Buddhist  priest  used  this  rock  for  a  pulpit,  and 
a  thousand  men,  hence  its  name,  sate  on  it  to  listen  to 
his   doctrine.     More   obdurate  than  stocks   and  stones, 


402  IN     CHINA. 

tlioy  listened  unmoved  and  incredulous,  but  a  sensible 
and  sensitive  stone  standing  near  nodded  assent  and  ap- 
proval, being  immediately  received  as  the  fii'st  disciple, 
and  in  the  jiool  at  the  foot  of  the  rock  a  water-lily  sprung 
up  and  bloomed  forth  its  testimony. 

Such  arc  some  of  the  authentic  facts  in  the  old  history 
of  Tiger  Hill  Mound,  as  given  by  most  veracious  Chinese 
historians. 

There  have  undoubtedly  been  many  other  important 
events  associated  with  this  locality  ;  but  the  most  recent, 
perhaps,  will  be  the  impression  left  upon  those  who  fled 
from  our  bearded  visages,  that  in  the  seventh  moon  of 
the  Hien  Fung  dynasty,  two  of  the  ancient  white  tigers 
appeared  and  flitted  a  brief  space  over  their  old  haunted 
hiU. 

We  landed  at  a  clean  paved  street  of  toy,  fan,  and  pic- 
ture shops,  upon  which  opened  the  entrance  to  a  Bud- 
dhist temple.  Passing  through  a  wayside  of  miserable 
beggars  and  a  portal  guard  of  dirty  priests,  we  passed 
through  the  temple  into  a  maze  of  neat  and  picturesque 
gardens  and  grottos,  rock- work,  lake  and  pleasure  house, 
all  fragrant  with  the  odor  of  the  golden  mandarin  flower, 
and,  what  was  most  wonderful,  all  was  clean  and  neat — 
the  white  was  snowy.  Almost  every  step  was  a  succession 
of  pleasant  surprises.  From  a  common-place  paved  and 
walled  alley,  which  seemed  to  be  leading  into  some  cham- 
ber, we  would  come  suddenly  upon  a  darkly-shaded  rock- 
work  garden,  looking  as  though  it  were  buried  in  a  moun- 
tain, so  solemnly  secluded  and  quiet.  On  a  rock,  and 
reached  by  rugged  steps,  would  be  a  neat  little  tea- 
house, and  on  one  side  of  this  quiet  place  would  be  a 
more  capacious  tea-room,  looking  from  one  terrace  to  an- 
other. We  had  scarcely  entered  this  before  some  one 
placed  two  cups  of  tea  on  a  table  before  us.  A  circular 
hole  in  the  brick  wall,  large  enough  for  a  man  to  pass, 


SOO-OHAU,     THE     PARIS     OF     CHINA.         403 

would  conduct  from  some  alley  oi*  room  to  such  a  piece 
of  rock--svork.  All  of  Tiger  Hill  Mound  was  made  of 
these  temples  and  gardens,  its  naturally  picturesque  rocks 
made  use  of  in  the  designs  of  art.  At  one  jDoint,  a  nar- 
row, time-worn,  blue  marble  bridge,  with  well-like  open- 
ings through  its  slabs,  spans  and  looks  down  a  narrow 
gorge  of  moss-grown  rocky  walls,  to  a  stream  below. 
This  gorge  is  said  to  be  the  effect  of  the  sword  of  the  in- 
dignant sword-digger. 

Having  reached  an  open  temple,  in  which  were  sold 
refi'eshments,  on  the  summit  of  the  hill,  and  on  its  per- 
pendicular side,  we  had  spread  before  us  a  magnificent  and 
far-reaching  view  of  field,  lake,  grove,  and  village,  with 
Soo-chau  some  miles  distant,  with,  however,  nothing  to 
make  it  conspicuous  but  three  pagodas — the  great  de- 
fect, from  the  low  character  of  the  buildings,  of  all  Chi- 
nese cities.  A  blue  range  of  mountains,  about  thirty 
miles  distant,  were  a  prominent  feature. 

Most  of  the  people,  who  manifested  so  much  surprise 
at  our  appearance  on  our  way,  undoubtedly  saw,  for  the 
first  time,  those  wondei'ful  barbai-ians  of  whom  they  hear 
so  much.  But  when  we  stepped  ashore  in  the  streets, 
around  Tiger  Hill  ]\Iound,  the  first  effect  of  surprise  in 
those  whose  eyes  lighted  upon  us,  was  startling  to  our- 
selves. Any  one  coming  suddenly  to  a  door  as  we  passed, 
would  start  back  in  wonder;  and,  if  a  woman  or  a  child, 
run  in  terror,  a.s  though  a  monster  had  risen  before  them. 
I  wore  our  usual  dark  cloth  costume,  and  heavy  leather 
boots,  with  my  undress  uniform  cap,  but  a  light  blue  silk 
Chinese  frock  instead  of  a  coat.  As  the  English  foiled 
to  find  Soo-chau  during  the  war  of  1842,  I  think  I  may 
make  the  boast,  so  far  as  it  is  worth  any  thing,  of  being 
the  first  foreign  naval  officer  ever  seen  in  tliat  city — cer- 
tainly the  first  of  the  United  States  service. 

I  wish  now  to  present  to  ethnographical  and  psycho- 


404  IN     CHINA. 

logical  people,  to  the  controllers  of  costume  fashions,  and 
to  boards  for  the  getting  up  military  uniforms,  a  fact  for 
their  study.  On  our  way,  the  first  eflect,  apparent  to  us, 
of  our  burst  upon  the  Chinese  vision,  was  mirthfulness. 
The  sleepy  sombre  boatmen  enlivened  to  a  grin ;  young 
females  lauglied  without  mercy,  as  did  all  the  children 
who  were  old  enough  not  to  be  frightened ;  and  one  old 
lady,  whose 

" Nose  was  thin, 


And  rested  on  her  chin 
Like  a  staff," 

laughed  as  she,  most  likely,  had  not  laughed  for  many 
years,  I  felt  a  practical  benevolence  in  giving  her  sides 
this  Tuerry  shake  upon  the  edge  of  the  grave.  Even  the 
surprised  people  upon  "  Tiger  Hill  Mound,"  passed  from 
surprise  to  mirthfulness.  Xow,  the  questions  are,  whether 
we  were,  as  individuals,  ridiculous  specimens  of  our  race  ? 
— whether  there  is  any  thing,  which,  not  being  familiar- 
ized to  the  native  taste  by  use,  is  essentially  ridiculous  in 
our  costume  ? — or,  whether  the  Chinese  mental  organiza- 
tion is  such  that  a  sudden  novelty  startles  it  into  merri- 
ment ?  I  am  inclined  to  attribute  it  partly  to  the  essen- 
tially ridiculous'  character  of  western  costume,  and  partly 
to  the  mental  characteristics  of  the  Chinese,  which  none 
of  the  many  students  of  that  23eople  have  yet  developed. 
We  know  there  is  the  ridiculous  in  nature  and  art.  The 
gravest  of  us  will  laugh  at  a  caricature  costume ;  and  a 
monkey  will  move  us  to  mirth,  while  a  rhinoceros  will 
raise  our  wonder ;  and  yet,  if  all  the  tribes  of  Xorth 
American  Indians  were  gathered  together,  and  two  full- 
dressed  Chinese  Avere  paraded  before  them,  I  doubt  if 
there  would  be  as  much  laughing  as  we  two  sober,  quiet 
citizens  got  up  in  our  less  than  one  hundred  miles'  jour- 
ney between  Shanghae  and  Soo-chau. 


SOO-CHAU,     THE    PARIS     OF     CHINA,       405 

Sociable  as  oui*  venerable  boatman  was,  when  he  had 
us  stowed  away  beiiind  his  translucent  shells,  I  observed 
that,  as  soon  as  our  acquaintance  might  be  discreditable 
and  dangerous,  he  very  prudently  dropped  us.  We  ex- 
pected him  to  show  us  the  sights,  and  take  the  lead  in  our 
wanderings,  but,  uj^on  looking  around  for  him,  we  found 
that  he  had  mingled  with  the  thickening  throng  of  spec- 
tators which  pressed  around  us,  and  was  looking  at  us 
with  as  much  wonder  as  though  he  never  laid  eyes  on  us 
before.  He  had  landed  us  in  a  retired  corner  where  there 
were  none  to  see  our  relations.  Notwithstanding  that  he 
cut  us  so  dead,  he  managed  to  prompt  some  of  the  spec- 
tators, generously,  to  lead  us  where  he  wanted  us  to  go ; 
thus  often  are  the  impulses  of  the  multitude  directed,  by 
such  cunning  fellows  as  our  boatman,  to  their  own  ends, 
Messrs,  Masses  thinking  all  the  while  their  movements  to 
be  of  their  own  spontaneous  volition.  Oar  old  boatman 
was  a  model  politician.  He  was,  however,  a  timid  one. 
Upon  one  occasion,  when  the  crowd  grew  noisy  and  tur- 
bulent— ^uot,  however,  from  any  mischievous  purposes, 
but  only  from  the  excitement  natural  to  a  crowd — he 
vanished  entirely,  and  only  reappeared  when  we  were  so 
near  his  boat  as  to  promise  a  safe  arrival  at  it  without 
any  chivalric  exertions  of  his  own,  verifying  the  Chinese 
proverb,  setting  forth  the  insecurity  of  politicians — "  the 
horse's  back  is  not  so  safe  as  the  buffalo's" — and  ours 
was  an  old  horse  trained  in  tricks.  He  had,  early  in  our 
journey,  declined  taking  us  to  the  city  within  the  wall, 
even  by  a  water  gate.  He  explained  that  nothing  was  to 
be  seen  inside  equal  to  what  was  outside,  and  that,  though 
he  had  no  great  apprehension  for  us,  if  detected,  he  would 
lose  his  boat,  and,  what  he  regarded  as  nearly  as  valuable, 
his  head.  I  offered  to  treble  his  price  if  he  would  take 
us  in,  and  as  he  declined  this,  or  any  compensation  short 


406  IN     CHINA. 

of  the  value  of  his  boat,  I  felt  that  it  would  scarcely  be 
just  to  urge  him  to  the  fulfillment  of  his  contract. 

On  our  return,  he  conducted  us  through  one  of  the 
business  canals ;  and  the  crowd  of  boats  of  all  kinds,  lying 
along  both  sides,  or  moving  as  they  could  through  the 
busy  and  thronged  channel ;  the  collision  and  the  crash- 
ing ;  the  cargo-boats,  laden  with  bales  and  packages  of 
manufactured  articles  and  raAv  materials,  and  an  occasion- 
al pleasure-boat  picking  its  way,  like  our  own,  daintily 
and  timidly,  as  a  full-dressed  lady  might,  caught  in  the 
business  streets  of  Xew  York — all  this  entanglement  of 
boats,  with  consequent  shouts  and  cries  of  boatmen — 
Chinese  cries,  too,  though  with  Soo-chau  softening — pre- 
senting an  exciting  scene  of  confusion,  esi^ecially  when  we 
met  at  the  arch  of  a  bridge.  A  locking  of  Broadway 
omnibuses  is  as  nothing  to  it.  Among  the  varied  boats 
lying  in  this  canal,  we  passed,  in  several  places,  groups  of 
post  or  post-office  boats,  for  carrying  the  mail. 

The  first  of  these  I  saw  in  the  open  river,  long,  sharp, 
low,  round,  and  black,  was  gliding  over  the  water  like  a 
snake,  and  with  almost  as  much  rapidity.  The  only  seen 
moving  power  was  a  broad  oar  or  paddle,  near  the  after 
end  of  the  boat,  dashing  into  the  water  with  great  quick- 
ness. As  the  boat  rushed  past  us,  a  man  was  seen  sitting, 
almost  reclining,  low  in  the  stern,  with  the  handle  of  this 
oar  grasped  between  his  feet,  and  giving  it  the  rapid  mo- 
tion with  his  legs,  while  he  as  rapidly  plied  and  guided 
the  boat  by  another  j^addle  with  his  arms.  The  boat  was 
a  sharp  canoe,  rounded  over,  and  securing  the  mail  from 
the  weather  by  black  painted  matting. 

By  half  past  one  o'clock  we  were  back  at  our  own 
home-like  boat,  and  Soo-chau,  so  far  as  we  were  concerned, 
was  done  and  done  for. 

As  there  was  now,  thanks  to  an  accomplished  purpose, 
no  further  need  of  concealment,  we  showed  ourselves  free- 


SOO-CUAU,     THE     PAEIS     OF     CHINA.       407 

ly  in  and  about  our  boat.  A  crowd  of  the  neighboring 
population,  of  all  ages  and  both  sexes,  gathered  on  the 
bank  to  look  and  laugh  at  us,  and  it  occurred  to  me  I 
would  do  a  good  work  for  posterity.  I  had  no  further 
interest  myself  in  Soo-chaii  or  its  vicinage ;  but  other  for- 
eigners may  visit  there,  and  might  not  be  the  worse  for 
a  pleasant  impression  of  foreign  visitors  left  upon  these 
humble  villagers ;  indeed,  who  shall  say  that  it  may  not 
be  the  means  of  opening  the  Chinese  empire  to  intercourse 
with  the  world  ?  I  could  not  say  a  kind  jjarting  word  to 
them,  but  I  had  a  small  bag  of  ship  biscuit ;  I  brought  it 
to  the  window,  and  commenced  throwing  fragments  of 
the  biscuit  among  them,  especially  to  the  women  who 
had  babies  in  their  arms.  I  had,  however,  no  idea  of  the 
excitement  I  was  to  get  up.  They  all  lost  their  timidity, 
and  rushed  down  to  the  edge  of  the  water,  some  of  them 
into  it,  to  collect  the  bread.  One  rather  good-looking 
young  woman,  happening  to  get  quite  a  large  piece  at  the 
beginning  of  the  scramble,  seemed  to  think  it  made  us 
old  acquaintances,  as  she  came  forward  with  an  air  which 
said,  "  Of  course  you  will  give  me  as  much  more  as  I 
wash,"  as  she  quietly  held  out  her  hands.  Seeing  what 
was  going  on,  the  whole  village  came  flocking  like  crows, 
and  scrambled,  with  much  meriiment,  for  the  handfuUs 
of  biscuit  I  cast  among  them.  I  had  nearly  got  through 
with  my  stock,  when  I  saw  an  old  lady  come  waddling 
along  with  outstretched  hand,  and  utteinng  ludicrous  cries 
of  distress,  lest  she  should  be  too  late.  As  I  saw  her 
coming,  I  reserved  a  whole  biscuit,  which,  as  she  plumped 
down  through  the  crowd  to  the  water's  edge,  I  put  in  her 
hand,  to  her  great  joy;  and  then,  as  the  boat  shoved  off", 
I  cast  among  them  the  remainder  of  my  fragments,  and 
we  left,  amid  a  parting  salute  of  cheerful  faces  and  kind 
looks — I  hope  of  good  wishes. 

"We  tracked  our  boat  against  a  high  head  wmd  all  that 


408  IN     C  U  I  N  A  . 

day  ;  and  at  niglit,  when  it  came  the  turn  of  the  "  fifth 
son  of  his  fatlier"  to  go  ashore,  although  there  was  the 
light  of  a  thin  clouded  moon,  he  had,  in  addition  to  the 
skeleton  lunbrella,  and  the  tow-line,  a  lighted  paper  lan- 
tern in  his  hand,  asserting  his  strict  observance  of  the 
rules  of  Cliinese  resjjectability.  Our  head  boatman  was 
desirous  of  stopping  at  ten  o'clock  at  night,  although  we 
had  then  a  fair  wind  which  would  have  relieved  them  all 
of  much  labor.  lie  made  many  objections  to  proceeding, 
and  at  length  said  we  were  coming  to  a  part  of  the  river 
infested  by  pirates.  We,  however,  loaded  our  single  fowl- 
ing j^iece,  and  ordered  him  to  go  on.  He  did  so  until 
midnight,  when  he  again  made  fast  alongside  the  bank,  and 
as  the  day's  work  had  been  hard,  we  let  him  have  his  way. 

On  the  2d  of  October,  in  the  morning,  we  found  that 
we  had  passed  through  Kwang  Shan,  although  we  had 
towed  most  of  the  way.  We  had  made  about  thirty  miles 
in  twelve  hours.  For  a  little  distance,  this  morning,  we 
had  a  fair  wind,  which  was  a  refreshing  novelty,  and  the 
day  was  comparatively  clear ;  but  we  got  into  terrible  bad 
company,  and  an  awful  amount  of  it. 

During  our  stay  about  Shanghae  this  summer  and  fall, 
we  have  watched,  with  pleasure  and  interest,  the  progress 
of  these  ripening  fields;  we  have  seen  them,  not  from  the 
beginning  when  the  ground  was  laboriously  prepared, 
and  each  spear  of  rice  set  out  by  hand ;  but  we  have 
seen  them  carefully  irrigated  with  water  drawn  from  the 
streams,  much  of  it  by  hand  ;  and  as  yet,  excepting  the 
limited  destruction  by  the  gale  of  September,  within  the 
limits  of  tide-water,  nothing  has  impeded  the  hapj^y  prog- 
ress to  a  fuU  and  fiit  harvest.  Much  of  our  pleasure  in 
the  present  excursion  has  been  derived  from  the  broad 
expanse  of  green  and  golden  fields  through  which  we  have 
passed ;  regular  beds  of  green  vegetables  being  inter- 
spersed with  the  fields  of  lice. 


S  O  O  -  C  H  A  U  ,     T  H  E     PAKIS     OF     ClIIXA.         409 

As  we  stood  at  our  cabin-door,  after  breakfast,  enjoy- 
ing the  day  and  the  prospect,  we  noticed,  at  first  only  a 
few  black  objects  flying  over  the  surface  of  the  grain- 
fields,  and  at  once  susjjected  their  terrible  character.  A 
very  Httle  further  progress  confirmed  our  suspicions.  We 
■p^ere  in  an  atmosphere  of  locusts — they  filled  the  air  like, 
as  we  noticed  last  year,  the  driving  flakes  of  a  heavy  snow 
storm,  far  as  the  eye  could  see,  upward  and  aroimd  in  every 
direction.  The  green  grass  was  rusty  brown  with  them, 
layers  deep ;  and  also  the  green  gardens  and  every  spire 
of  rice  was  fixed  upon,  and  darkened  by  several  at  once, 
disgusting  as  plague  spots  upon  the  healthy  body,  and  yet 
the  air  was  darkened  by  coming  myriads  of  the  unpor- 
tioned  voracious  host.  In  this  one  day,  all  this  season's 
labor  and  hopes,  all  these  fair  fields,  are  to  be  laid  M'aste ; 
the  people  have  labored  to  find  one  day's  meal  for  these 
locusts — in  every  sense  of  the  word,  beastly  insects.  It 
was  pitiable  to  see  these  poor  farmers,  men,  women  and 
children — it  was  disease,  death  and  starvation  to  them. 
Vainly  as  sweei:)ing  out  the  ocean,  they  were  with  gongs, 
cries,  cloths  tied  to  poles,  endeavoring  to  frighten  them 
away ;  even  the  sport  which  the  poor  children  made  of 
this  work  was  melancholy  in  its  ignorance  of  the  coming 
misery. 

Once  our  boat  glided  close  into  the  bank  near  an  old 
woman  who  had  been  laboring  hard  at  the  fi-uitless  labor, 
and  was  standing  in  an  attitude  of  despair.  I  suppose  she 
may  have  read  in  our  countenance  our  sympathy  in  their 
wretchedness,  for  she  threw  up  her  hands  as  she  looked 
at  us,  and  spoke  in  a  tone  of  hopelessness.  Her  words, 
as  translated  by  my  companion,  were  few,  but  significant 
— "  We  shall  all  starve."  All  day  long  we  passed  through 
this  consuming  plague.  In  the  afternoon  there  were  men, 
women  and  children,  busy  with  sacks  and  baskets,  gath- 
ering up  these  insects — I  at  first  thought  for  food  ;  but 

]8 


410  INCllINA. 

upon  inquiry,  learned  that  they  received  two  cash  (the 
five  hundredth  part  of  a  dollar)  for  every  catty  (one  and 
one  third  pounds).  The  cash  may  be  useful  to  the  people, 
but  the  impression  upon  the  locusts  may  be  appreciated 
from  the  fact  that  while  the  fields  were  abandoned  to  the 
locusts,  and  the  air  was  filled  with  them,  these  people  were 
getting  all  their  supplies  from  the  water's  edge  without 
making  the  least  perceptible  impression  upon  the  mass. 
Towards  night  our  persevering  head  wind  increased  to  a 
gale,  but  our  boatmen  tugged  against  it,  as  we  were  anx- 
ious to  reach  tide-water,  and  to  pass  the  triple-arched 
stone  bridge  of  "Woodang  before  its  gates  should  be  closed 
at  eleven  at  night,  so  as  to  go  down  with  the  first  ebb. 
We  reached  the  bridge  at  ten,  when  the  wdnd  was  blow- 
ing terrifically,  with  heavy  hail  and  rain,  so  that  we  just 
passed  the  bridge  and  came  to,  rejoicing  that  a  storm  so 
annoying  to  us  was  death  to  locusts,  and  life  to  China- 
men. 

TVe  were  now  twenty-four  miles  from  Shanghae,  and 
the  gale  still  continuing,  my  companion  being  obliged  to 
be  in  Shanghae  before  the  outgoing  mail,  started  through 
mud  and  rain,  on  foot.  I  at  first  thought  of  accomjxany- 
ing  him,  but  as  much  of  these  Chinese  roads  are  a  muddy, 
slippery,  narrow  ridge  through  fields,  I  concluded  to  wait 
alone  the  chances  of  the  weather,  and  get  along  with  our 
Chinamen  by  my  signs  and  their  sagacity.  I  had  the 
proof,  very  soon,  that  I  was  safe  in  that  of  Ayouk.  In- 
deed, language  seemed  of  no  use  in  the  honest,  straight 
forward  wants  of  life,  and  silence  quite  a  luxury.  Noth- 
ing was  wanting.  At  dinner  time,  Ayouk,  walking 
peremptorily  up  to  the  table  where  I  was  writing,  was 
sufficiently  expressive.  The  dinner  was  put  on  without  a 
\»'ord ;  but  wishing  an  absent  bottle  of  pickles,  I  merely 
closed  my  left  hand  as  if  holding  the  bottle  obliquely,  and 
picking  up  a  fork,  I  thrust  it  two  or  three  times  at  my 


SOO-CHAU,     THE     PAli  IS     OF     CUIXA.        411 

hand — the  pickles  were  immediately  brought.  I  next 
wanted  a  smaU  plate — ^that  was  easy  enough.  I  pointed 
to  a  large  one,  and  rapidly  drew  the  circumference  of  a 
smaller  in  the  au* — the  plate  came.  I  next  held  my  hands 
four  inches  apart,  and  drew  a  circle  in  the  air  two  inches 
in  diameter — that  meant  a  can  of  preseiwed  strawberries, 
A  point  to  a  crumb  of  bread,  and  another  circle  in  the 
air,  meant  biscuit.  They  all  came  at  the  first  sign,  and 
never  a  word  spoken. 

By  two  in  the  afternoon  the  wind  had  hauled  a  little 
more  favorably,  and  although  the  tide  Avas  against  us,  we 
got  under  way.  I  was  now  alone  vnth  my  friend's  boat- 
men, and  if  before  this  I  have  felt  in  any  way  ungrateful 
to  him  or  to  them,  I  wish  now  to  acknowledge  my  fault, 
and  to  thank  them  for  one  of  the  merriest  rides  I  ever 
had  in  all  my  wanderings.  These  boatmen  were  essen- 
tially the  children  of  still  life.  They  had  been  brought 
up  to  the  perils  of  tracking  and  poling  a  boat  through 
some  stagnant  canal.  Said  the  great  canal  engineer — 
"  Rivers  have  been  made  to  feed  canals."  Said  my  boat- 
men— "Flowing  tides  and  fair  winds  are  necessary  to 
show  the  skill  of  poling  in  dead  water  through  reed 
swamps  and  over  mud  banks," 

At  first  the  tide  was  against  us,  and  we  ventured  to 
spread  a  little  sail  to  the  following  breeze,  and  got  along 
according  to  all  rule,  and  as  stupidly  right  as  all  the  other 
boats  which,  with  sail  sj^read,  were  accompanying  us  down 
stream.  But  there  came  a  change  in  the  tide ;  instead 
of  being  conservatively  in  opposition,  it  became  a  rush- 
ing torrent  of  progress.  My  boatmen  shrank  from  the 
power  of  favormg  wind  and  tide,  and  struck  the  sail. 
Now,  with  her  bulging  roof  and  mat-shedded  quarter,  our 
boat  had  the  head  and  stern  proportion  of  what  is  called 
a  bottle-fly  or  spider ;  and  consequently  the  sail  being  off 
the  ];ows,  the  wind  took  us  on  the  balloon  quarter,  and 


412  IN     CHINA. 

away  she  went,  stern  foremost,  down  stream ;  fortunately 
we  were  in  a  long  reach  which  gave  us  a  stern  run  of  a 
mile  clear  of  every  thing.  The  thing  was  so  ludicrous  I 
could  not  make  up  my  mind  to  stop  it.  But  unfortunate- 
ly there  was  a  bend  in  the  river,  a  promontory,  and  with 
a  crash,  crashing  our  rudder,  we  came  up  stern  foremost 
on  that.  The  mud  held  the  stern  long  enough  to  let  the 
wind  bring  the  bow  round,  Avhere,  for  some  distance,  we 
regularly  whirled  and  waltzed  down  the  stream,  cushion- 
ing, like  a  bDUard  ball,  from  one  bank  to  the  other. 

The  poor  boatmen  seemed  to  think  it  was  only  neces- 
sary to  keep  busy  with  the  long  bamboo  poles  over  the 
bow,  trying  to  push  this  tail-strong  boat  into  a  proper 
course,  but  as  there  was  only  room  for  two  to  push  on 
the  narrow  bow,  and  since  the  loss  of  the  rudder  the 
helmsman  steered  by  the  sculling-oar,  there  was  one 
still  unemployed ;  it  was  the  umbrella,  lantei'n-bearing 
"  fifth  son  of  his  father ;"  and  as  he  seemed  to  think  it 
necessary  to  be  doing  something,  whenever  the  boat  got 
into  embarrassment  he  jilunged  a  rag  mop,  with  a  long 
handle,  into  the  water,  and,  with  nervous  rapidity,  washed 
off  the  bow  of  the  boat.  While  engaged  in  this  laudable 
pursuit,  the  boat  rushed  madly  on  to  a  bank,  and  the  "  fifth 
son  of  his  father,"  swab,  moj)  and  all,  went  overboard. 
After  this  catastrophe,  at  which  time  the  boat  glided 
high  up  the  bank,  and  all  hands  jumped  overboard  to 
jDush  her  ofi",  it  was  concluded  to  take  the  mat  covering 
oif  the  stern,  so  that  less  wind  would  be  held  there. 
Still,  this  did  not  answer ;  the  boat  was  stern-heavy,  and 
beyond  pole  management  in  the  central  wind  and  tide.  I 
now  tried  to  suggest  that  a  little  sail  on  the  forward  part 
of  the  boat  would  balance  this  heavy  stern,  but  they  either 
did  not  understand  me,  or  could  not  understand  a  princi- 
ple contrary  to  the  "  ola  custom"  of  then-  fluvial  training, 
and  insisted  upon  keeping  the  boat  close  in  to  the  dead 


SOO-CHAU,     THE     PA  11  IS     OF     CHINA.      413 

water  of  the  bank,  where  mud  and  grass  would  moderate 
its  speed  to  the  control  of  the  poles.  It  was  no  dis- 
couragement to  them  that  an  occasional  fix  upon  a  mud- 
flat  required  all  hands  to  jumji  overboard  and  shove  her 
off. 

In  this  laborious  manner  we  worked  our  way  down 
stream,  while  boat  after  boat,  with  sail  set,  rushed  by  us 
down  the  tide.  We  had  reached  within  four  miles  of 
Shanghae  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  and  the  tide  was  still 
flowing  down,  when  all  at  once  a  rushing  sound  came  up 
the  river,  and  with  it  the  flood-tide  in  a  swelling  tidal 
wave  or  bore  ;  it  swelled  furiously  under  our  boat,  foam- 
ing along  the  banks.  The  anchor  was  cast  overboard ; 
the  chain  straightened  out  rapidly,  and  we  were  fixed  to 
a  flood-tide  for  the  next  six  hours.  I  went  ashore  with 
Ayouk  as  a  guide,  and  wading  through  puddle  and  mud, 
reached  the  settlement,  my  room  and  my  bed,  about  one 
in  the  morning — and  slept. 

Soon  after  my  return  from  this  trip,  we  left  once  more 
for  the  south  of  China.  In  my  wanderings  through  the 
streets  of  old  Shanghae,  I  picked  up  many  interesting 
remains  of  a  long-buried  antiquity.  I  caught  the  disease 
of  "  old  crackle." 

A  very  certain  kind  of  disease  to  which  strangers  are 
subject  in  China,  North  China  especially,  is  "  old  crackle  ;" 
rather  it  is  the  third  and  last  stages  of  a  disease,  and  is  apt 
to  be  severe  according  to  one's  susceptibility  in  taste,  and 
fertihty  of  imagination  of  the  subject.  It  is  caught  in  old 
curiosity  shops,  and,  indeed,  the  tendency  to  visit  them  is 
a  predisposition  to  the  malady.  The  first  stage  manifests 
itself  in  a  desire  for  curious  bronzes,  tlie  second  for  antique 
vases  of  rare  colors,  and  in  the  third,  "  old  crackle"  comes 
upon  us  with  tremendous  and  exhausting  power. 

At  first,  when  you  are  in  the  bronze  and  briglit-color 
stage,  you  look  with  contemi)t  upon  tlie  lined  and  marred 


414  IN     CHINA. 

and  scarred  bowls,  vases  and  cups,  which  here  and  there 
are  seen  in  the  curiosity  shops.  You  are  not  yet  out  of 
the  fresh  greenness  of  your  own  soil.  You  arc  under 
the  untutored  fondness  for  garish  brightness,  unworn  per- 
fection ;  and  if  you  take  to  antiquity  at  all,  it  must  be  that 
antiquity  which,  in  bronze  and  vase,  keej^s  its  form  and  its 
color  perfect. 

Perchance,  you  listlessly  point  to  one  of  these  old  cracked 
affairs  and  ask  its  price.  The  answer  strikes  you  with 
amazement.  You  now  look  a  little  more  at  old  crackle. 
By  degrees  your  vision  brightens,  strengthens  ;  the  deli- 
cious disease  is  upon  you  ;  in  those  cracks  and  lines  you 
see  the  beautiful  wrinkles  of  an  old  age  ;  but  such  old 
age !  Coarse  features,  skins,  and  complexions  are  early 
marred  by  the  lines  of  age,  but  when  they  are  drawn 
over  fine  textures  and  symmetrical  forms,  you  admire  the 
beauty  which  wins  time's  touch  so  gracefully,  and  at  once 
you  fall  in  love  with  "  old  crackle,"  as  did  the  lovers  ol 
Ninon  d'Enclos,  despite  her  sixty  years. 

In  purchasing  the  specimens  of  the  porcelain  art,  lost  to 
modern  times,  you  buy  the  association  of  centuries — the 
tastes,  the  social  characteristics  of  an  age  artistic  and  re- 
fined, when  forests  grew  where  the  cities  of  the  great 
republic  stand,  and  even  where  those  of  old  mother  En- 
gland stand.  The  nobleman  whose  drawing-room  it  dec- 
orated, has  passed  away ;  his  j^alace  has  j^assed  away ; 
soil  and  vegetation  have  accumulated  over  the  old  vase 
which  has  cracked  beneath  the  heats  and  frosts  of  centu- 
ries, but  retaining  its  complexion  and  its  pohsh  more  per- 
fectly than  the  enamel  of  a  shell,  When  all  this  comes 
up,  you  are  smitten  ;  money  has  no  value ;  and  eighty 
per  cent,  exchange  will  not  save  you. 

I  had  an  opportunity,  by  care  and  perseverance,  of 
adding  some  fine  specimens  to  my  collection. 


BATTLE     AND     BLOOD.  415 

XXXIII. 

BATTLE     AND     BLOOD. 

When  we  left  the  south  of  China,  the  waters  of  Pearl 
Rivei-,  and  the  vicinity  of  the  "  City  of  Rams,"  we  had 
indications  of  the  gi'owing  animosity  of  the  Cantonese 
toward  all  foreigners.  The  strong  Anglo-Saxon  current 
of  arrogance  crossing  and  ruffling  that  of  the  Chinese, 
the  persistent  and  lawless  manner  in  which  the  Chinese 
gave  expression  to  their  animosity,  rendered  it  evident 
that  ere  long  a  national  rupture  must  occur,  as  we  tolerate 
no  lawlessness  but  our  own. 

From  the  more  extended  relations  of  the  English  and 
Americans,  the  chances  were  that  the  task  would  devolve 
upon  one  or  the  other  of  these  powers.  But  the  author- 
ized murder  of  a  French  missionary,  Chapdelaine,  in  the 
province  of  Kwang-se,  rendered  hostility  from  the  French 
government  a  prompt  possibility;  inasmuch  as  that  govern- 
ment has  so  much  less  responsibility  to  the  nation,  in  de- 
claring war,  than  either  the  English  or  ourselves. 

As  the  French  have  no  commerce  in  China,  the  war  on 
their  part  would  be  one  of  religious  propagandism ;  on 
the  part  of  English  and  Americans,  one  of  expected  com- 
mercial extension. 

Within  a  recent  period  the  English  had  to  complain  of 
various  outrages,  Avhich  they  were  unlikely  to  tolerate, 
even  though,  if  the  Chinaman's  story  were  heard,  they 
arose  from  provocation. 

The  American  complaints  were  of  the  attack,  by  a  half- 
piratical  Chinese  fort,  upon  tlie  American  steamer  Kum 
Fa,  out  upon  a  pleasure  excursion  Avith  a  party  of  gentle- 
men, ladies  and  children.  Several  shot  were  fired  at  her, 
and  one  struck  her,  if  I  remember  correctly. 


no  IN     CHINA. 

There  were  several  classes  of  Chinese  extenuators ;  1st, 
those  who  recognized  the  wrongs  done  them,  and  yet 
admitted  their  faults — advocates  of  justice ;  2d,  those 
who,  engaged  in  some  petty  underhand  Chinese  commerce 
in  collusion  with  subordinate  Chinese  authorities,  dreaded 
a  rupture ;  and  3d,  those  who,  from  animosity,  jealousy, 
and  hatred  of  their  own  authorities,  were  anxious  always 
to  put  them  in  the  ■svi'ong,  and  the  Chinese  m  the  right — 
a  small  but  violent  faction — who  worked  in  China,  and 
with  the  press  in  the  United  States  and  England.  The  two 
latter  said  the  Kum  Fa  was  fired  into  because  she  was  in 
a  branch  of  the  river  where  she  had  no  right  to  be.  But 
such  a  ferocious  and  savage  assault,  for  a  thoughtless  in- 
discretion, admitting  it  to  be  such,  was  the  exponent  of  a 
feeling  which  would  not  long  tolerate  peaceful  relations. 

Then  again  came  the  firing  upon  the  American  steamer 
Willamette,  and,  upon  these  sources  of  irritation,  the 
shock  of  the  murder  of  an  American  gontleman,  Mr.  Cun- 
ningham, of  Fu-chau,  by  a  party  of  Cantonese,  in  the 
streets  of  that  city.  Whether  accidental,  or  provoked 
by  imprudence,  it  added  to  the  general  feeling  of  inse- 
curity and  animosity. 

Added  to  these  specific  incidents  were  the  general  in- 
sulting language,  the  dangerous  and  ofiensive  missiles 
with  which  all  foreigners  were  hkely  to  be  assailed  if  out 
of  the  narrow  precincts  of  the  factories  at  Canton.  The 
posting  of  the  inflammatory  handbills  before  we  left  the 
neighborhood  of  Canton,  showed  that  on  the  part  of  the 
Chinese  the  hostihty  was  assuming  some  form.  In  this 
general  hostility  to  "  Barbarians"  there  seemed  to  be  no 
disposition  or  ability  on  the  part  of  the  authorities  to  pre- 
vent or  punish  the  outrages  of  lawless  bands. 

Even  though  the  outrages  were  committed  by  what  was 
apparently  a  government  fortress,  most  likely  it  would  be 
said  the  oflTenders  are  not  agents  of  the  government,  but 


BATTLE     AND     BLOOD.  417 

pirates  and  maraudei's,  who  had  temporarily  occupied  an 
abandoned  fortification.  Thus  the  people  felt  no  restraint 
in  their  aggressions  upon  foreigners,  either  from  the  fear 
of  then*  own  or  other  powers.  From  the  haughty  exclu- 
siveness  of  the  coui-t  of  Pekin,  it  deprived  itself  of  all 
means  of  gaining  correct  information  in  relation  to  for- 
eigners, and  was  open  to  any  deception  or  imposition 
which  it  suited  the  interest  or  desigus  of  the  Cantonese 
authorities  to  imjDOse  upon  it ;  and  one  of  the  most  promi- 
nent of  these  was  to  create  the  impression  that  the  for- 
eigners were  easily  managed,  controlled,  and  subdued  by 
the  great  skill  and  vigilance  of  those  authorities.  Morbid 
and  infuriated  Canton  was  the  eye  and  ear  through  which 
the  Chinese  empire  saw  the  world.  In  this  state  of  affairs 
the  Imperial  Commissioner  at  Canton,  Yeh-Min-Ching, 
was  of  all  persons  the  one  most  fitted  to  precipitate  the 
coming  collision.  One  of  the  highest  rank  in  the  em- 
pire, he  added  to  all  the  arrogance  of  his  race  that  of  his 
position ;  of  large  ability  and  unscrujDuIous  character,  he 
could  i)roduce  a  political  paper  flowing  with  sentiments 
of  justice,  morality  and  humanity,  whilst  cooUy,  in  support 
of  his  tyranny,  he  floated  his  sovereignty  upon  rivers  of 
blood — it  being  his  boast  that  he  had  cut  off  the  heads 
of  one  hundred  thousand  rebels,  seventy  thousand,  it  is 
said,  in  one  year.  He  had  acquired  much  reputation  by 
his  successful  dealings  with  rebels,  and,  in  his  ignorance, 
seemed  to  think  ho  might  culminate  his  glory  by  expelling 
all  foreigners  from  his  jurisdiction. 

Under  such  circumstances,  only  an  ostensible  cause  of 
collision  was  wanting,  and  it  would  be  a  Uniited  and  un- 
reasonable view  of  the  subject  to  suppose  that  the  merits 
of  the  particular  difficulty  would  at  all  be  an  expression 
of  the  real  cause  of  hostility.  It  was  only  the  break  in 
the  barrier  which  hold  the  flood,  but  not  the  flood  itselK 

It  was  therefore  scarcely  a  surprise  when,  at  Shanghae, 
18* 


418  IN     CHINA, 

in  October,  1S5G,  wc  heard  that  a  collision  had  occurred 
between  the  British  and  Cbincse  authorities  at  Canton. 
The  account  of  the  difficulty  reached  us  with  much  per- 
version and  exaggeration.  It  has  since  been  so  fully  and 
so  critically  examined,  to  answer  the  ends  of  various 
parties,  that  a  mere  statement  of  its  nature  is  all  that  is 
necessary  here.  A  lorcha,  the  Arrow,  licensed  by  the 
authorities  of  the  British  colony  of  Hong  Kong  to  fly  the 
British  flag,  had  been  seized  at  Canton,  accused  of  or  de- 
tected in  smuggling.  This  proceeding  was  resisted  on 
the  part  of  the  British  authorities,  the  controversy  be- 
ing carried  on  across  the  walls  of  Canton  by  documen- 
tary communication,  with  all  its  delays  and  difficulties, 
although  the  parties  were  Avitbin  a  few  hundred  yards  of 
each  other.  In  the  course  of  this  correspondence  the 
British  demanded  that  the  discussion  should  be  carried 
on  and  the  matter  decided  by  a  personal  interview  with 
the  Cantonese  authorities  wuthin  the  walls  of  Canton,  a 
privilege  which  had  been  yielded  by  treaty,  but  never 
conceded  in  fact.  In  making  this  demand,  the  British 
asked  it  not  only  for  themselves,  but  for  all  other  nations. 
K  there  had  been  any  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  Chi- 
nese to  avoid  a  difficulty,  this  would  have  been  a  natural 
means  of  doing  so.  Such  a  concession,  however,  accorded 
but  illy  with  the  arrogance  of  Yeh,  or  the  animosity  of 
the  fierce  democracy  of  Canton.  The  proposition  and  all 
concession  were  refused.  To  enforce  the  demand,  and, 
under  the  erroneous  impression  that  a  few  shot  and  shells 
would  bring  the  Cantonese  to  terms,  a  Umited  district  of 
the  city,  including  the  government  buildings  and  the  Ya- 
mun,  or  residence  of  the  Imperial  Commissioner,  were 
shelled,  and  the  wall  breached  by  the  naval  forces  under 
the  command  of  Rear  Admiral  Sir  Michael  Seymour. 

Whatever  may  be  the  view  taken  of  these  events,  by 
interest,  policy,  or  honest  judgment,  as  to  the  policy  and 


BATTLE     AND     BLOOD.  419 

expediency  of  this  course,  all  acquainted  with  the  charac- 
ter of  this  distinguished  officer  know  that  his  action  must 
be  viewed  with  the  respect  due  to  abilities  and  experience 
du'ected  by  the  principles  of  the  Christian  gentleman. 
Although  he  might  execute  the  severest  measures  from  a 
sense  of  duty,  the  glory  of  military  achievement  was  no 
compensation  to  him  for  the  inhumanities  of  war.  Among 
the  more  reckless  and  impulsive,  his  efforts  to  spare  blood- 
shed and  desolation  were  made  a  rejiroach  to  him. 

"With  exaggeration  and  perversion,  rumors  of  these 
events  reached  us  upon  the  "  Bund,"  the  gossip  exchange 
at  Shanghae ;  and  also  that  our  newly-arrived  sloop-of- 
war,  the  Portsmouth,  was  mingling  in  the  fight. 

Commodore  Armstrong,  therefore,  hurried  with  the 
San  Jacinto  down  to  the  scene  of  hostilities,  and  arrived 
in  Hong  Kong  on  the  8th  of  November,  1856. 

The  Chinese,  in  return  for  the  attack  made  upon  Can- 
ton, had  retaliated  with  some  spirit  and  energy.  They 
had  made  a  bold  attempt  to  blow  up  H.  M.  S.  Barracouta 
by  means  of  fire  rafts.  Four  of  these  were  at  great  risk 
towed  out  of  the  way,  and  she  only  avoided  the  fifth  by 
slipping  her  cables.  They  had  also  nearly  succeeded  in 
blowing  up  the  English  club-house  in  which  were  quar- 
tered at  the  time  several  hundred  EngUsh  soldiers. 

Yell  bad  put  forth  a  proclamation  oftering  a  hundred 
taels  apiece  for  the  heads  of  all  foreignei's,  or  "  barba- 
rians," as  the  paper  read.  It  was  said,  by  some,  that  the 
reward  was  only  for  the  heads  of  English  barbarians. 
If  this  distinction  were  made,  it  took  nothing  from  the 
practical  effect  of  this  savage  measure  of  war,  as  the  head 
of  a  Yankee  in  the  bag  of  the  fortunate  Chinaman  who 
succeeded  in  getting  it  would  be  worth  as  much  as  that 
of  an  Englishman ;  so  literally,  in  tl)is  case,  were  the  sins 
of  the  Hxthers  visited  upon  their  children. 

Most  fortunately  the  United  States  ship  Portsmouth, 


4'20  IN      CHINA. 

Commander  A.  II.  Footc,  was  at  Hong  Kong  when  these 

troubles  opened,  and  the  Levant,  Commander  Smith,  ar- 
rived there  in  their  early  stage.  With  all  these  threat- 
enings  to  our  countrymen  and  interests,  under  the  judi- 
cious management  of  Captain  Foote  these  ships  were 
moved  up  the  river  to  the  anchorage  at  Whampoa,  and 
their  crews  quartered  on  shore  for  the  protection  of  the 
lives  and  property  of  our  citizens  penned  up  in  the  lim- 
ited locaUty  of  the  Canton  factories,  and  threatened  with 
destruction  by  an  infuriated  Chinese  soldiery  and  mob. 
There  being  no  French  force  present,  Captain  Foote  de- 
tailed a  part  of  his  force  for  the  protection  of  the  French 
consulate,  which,  upon  the  arrival  of  the  Virginie,  was 
relieved  by  a  detachment  from  that  ship. 

In  view  of  the  threatening  state  of  affair's — the  events 
which  had  already  occm-red — the  known  hostility  and 
ferocious  animosity  of  the  Cantonese  to  all  foreigners — • 
the  blood-thirsty  proclamation  for  heads  put  forth  by  the 
chief,  who  openly  avowed  and  represented  this  hostility 
as  a  political  principle — it  is  to  be  presumed  that  Captain 
Foote,  or  any  officer  of  prudence  and  discretion,  would 
have  spontaneously  taken  these  steps.  But,  in  addition, 
Yeh  had  given  official  notice  that  he  could  not  be  respon- 
sible for  the  safety  of  those  who  remained  in  the  factories ; 
and  Captain  Foote  received  the  following  dispatch  from 
the  only  civil  representative  of  the  United  States  then 
in  Canton : 

United  States  Consulatr, 

Canton,  October  21,  1856. 
SiE,— 

I  inclose  you  herewith  a  copy  of  an  official  com- 
munication I  received  this  morning  from  Harry  S.  Parkes, 
Esq.,  Her  British  Majesty's  consul. 

From  the  tenor  of  Consul  Parke's  dispatch  you  will 
perceive  that  a  collision  may  possibly  arise  within  twenty- 


BATTLE     AXD     BLOOD.  421 

four  hours  between  Her  British  Majesty's  forces  and  the 
Chinese,  and  as  the  hves  and  property  of  American  citi- 
zens may  thereby  be  placed  in  jeopardy,  I  have  taken  the 
earhest  opportunity  to  notify  you  of  the  danger,  in  order 
that  you  may  timely  place  a  proper  and  sufficient  force 
here  to  protect  American  lives  and  property. 
I  am,  sir, 

Tour  most  obedient  sei-vant, 

Oliver  H.  Perry, 

United  States  Consul. 

Commander  Akdrew  H.  Foote,  Esq., 

Commanding  United  States  Steamer  Portsmouth, 
Whampoa. 

It  is  a  discouraging  picture  of  human  nature,  that  not- 
withstanding so  clear  an  indication  of  the  proper  and 
humane  duty  of  Captain  Foote,  his  course  has  been  se- 
verely censured,  not  only  by  a  low,  mercenary,  commer- 
cial interest  in  China,  but  by  an  unhappy  faction  in  our 
own  squadron. 

Such  unjust  censures  spread  through  the  press  of  the 
United  States,  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  leading 
American  citizens  in  Canton  and  Macao,  who  addressed 
Captain  Foote  the  following  letter  : 

Macao,  9th  Febraary,  1858. 
Dear  Sir, — 

We  have  been  informed  that  in  some  of  the  Ameri- 
can newspapers,  it  has  been  stated  in  a  communication 
from  China,  that  the  force  taken  by  you  to  the  factories 
at  Canton  in  the  month  of  October,  185G,  while  diffi- 
culties existed  between  the  English  and  Chinese  authori- 
ties, was  not  only  not  necessary  there,  but  that  you  were 
requested  to  withdraw  it. 

In  justice  to  yourself,  we  beg  to  say,  that  of  the  ne- 
cessity for  the  force  there  at  the  period  in  question,  we 


422  IN     CUINA. 

are  fully  satisfied,  and  that  it  imparted  great  confidence 
and  security  to  the  Americans  generally  in  Canton ;  we, 
of  course,  can  not  know  if  you  were  requested  to  remove 
it,  but  are  convinced,  that  had  you  done  so,  the  danger 
to  life  and  property  would  have  been  gi'eatly  increased. 

TVe  are  very  haj^py  also  to  avail  oui'selves  of  this  op- 
portunity to  express  to  you  our  acknowledgment  for  the 
promj)t  and  wilhng  manner  in  which  you  had  given  your 
assistance  and  sujjport  to  your  countrymen  in  this  part 
of  China  whenever  it  seemed  to  you  that  you  could  be 
of  any  possible  service,  or  that  cii'cumstances  required 
them.  With  our  best  wishes. 
We  remain. 

Your  friends  and  countrymen, 

James  Puedon,  Jr.,  of  Canton. 
S.  Wells  Williams, 
GiDEox  Nye,  Esq., 
JoHx  B.  Fkexch, 
C.  F.  Peeston, 

W.    C.    HtnSTTEE, 

j.  b.  exdicoit, 
James  ISTapiee, 
Henet  Devtnts, 
C.  F.  Haeding. 
To  Captain  A.  H.  Foote, 

U.  S.  8.  Portsmouth,  Hong  Kong. 

Upon  the  aii'ival  of  Commodore  Armstrong  in  the  flag- 
ship, all  was  in  a  state  of  turmoil  and  feverish  excite- 
ment. The  wrongs  and  injuries,  real  and  imaginary,  of 
the  Enghsh  residents  of  Canton,  were  also  those  of  our 
countrymen,  accumulating  year  by  year,  and  nursed  in 
remembered  wrath  for  future  settlement.  The  conflict 
of  divei'se  and  equally  arrogant  races  had  commenced. 


BATTLE     AND     BLOOD.  423 

and  tlie  age-built  mountams  of  national  exclusiveness  and 
bigotry  were  about  being  torn  from  their  foundation,  to 
open  a  future  of  cheerful  and  humanizing  national  com- 
munion. 

It  is  not  strange  that  many  of  our  countrymen  in  China 
felt  the  English  war  to  be  equally  our  war,  especially  as 
the  right  of  admission  of  officials  into  Canton  had  been 
demanded  by  the  English  for  us,  as  well  as  for  them- 
selves, and,  if  granted  them  by  treaty,  it  must,  by  im- 
plication, be  conceded  to  us ;  and  in  itself  the  demand 
seemed  only  just  and  expedient. 

It  was  opposed  to  the  chivalry  of  our  countrymen  that 
the  Enghsh  should  be  left  alone  to  redress  common 
wu'ongs,  and  to  secure  common  rights.  Besides,  there 
was  an  impatient  feehng  to  have  a  helping  hand  in  open- 
ing the  tempting  glories  of  the  future. 

Such  considerations  and  impulses  caused  most  of  our 
countrymen  to  fraternize  with  the  English — to  assume 
the  conclusion  that  we  must  be  side  by  side  with  them 
— to  feel  some  shame  that  we  had  not  taken  the  initia- 
tive upon  our  past  grievances,  and  to  be  querulous  of  any 
steps  of  our  authorities,  keeping  our  forces  from  the  con- 
flict. 

There  were  others,  with  cooler  hearts  and  more  calcu- 
lating heads,  who  by  long-estabHshed  usage  assimilating 
to  Chinese  principles  of  monopoly,  had  the  streams  of 
commerce  flowing  by  time-grown  channels  m  fixed  res- 
ervoirs, out  of  which  none  dipped  but  themselves.  Such 
were  of  course  averse  from  any  measures  which  might 
change  the  existing  state  of  things,  and  i^romiso  a  future 
in  any  way  difierent  from  the  stationary  past. 

There  was  also  a  lower  class,  Avho  filled  their  coflers  by 
a  small  smuggling  trade,  sneaking  along  the  river  coasts 
in  collusion  with  petty  mandarins.  These  were  also  in 
the  interests  of  peace  at  any  humiliation,  and  could  go  nil 


424  IN      CHINA. 

lengths  for  its  preservation  without  any  sacrifice  of  their 
lionor. 

It  was  reasonable  that  the  English,  not  understanding 
the  principles  of  our  foreign  policy,  or  the  responsibility 
of  our  public  agents,  should  have  exjiected  our  material 
support  in  the  present  difficulty,  and  believing  that  the 
course  to  be  pursued  would  depend  solely  upon  the  in- 
dividual views  and  feelings  of  the  commander-in-chief  ot 
our  naval  forces,  they  only  acted  out  a  natural  poUcy,  and 
did  but  their  duty  in  directing  toward  him  every  honor- 
able effort  to  win  him  to  alliance  and  concert  of  action. 

By  all  these  various  influences,  interests  and  opinions 
was  Commodore  Armstrong  assailed  upon  his  arrival  at 
Hong  Kong,  Old  and  settled  residents  claimed  to  exer- 
cise an  influence  upon  the  ground  of  experience,  and  it 
would  have  been  presumptuous  not  to  receive  such  ex- 
perience, and  then  try  it  by  common  sense  and  true  prin- 
ciple. It  might  have  been  equally  injudicious  to  permit 
these  men  to  construe  theii*  own  exj^erience.  Sometimes 
the  greater  the  experience  the  greater  the  perversion, 
when  a  man  has  been  walking  by  his  prejudices  and  in' 
terests.  It  is  exj)erience,  time,  and  the  constant  pres- 
sure of  the  same  circumstances  which  make  the  "  golden 
lily"  foot  of  the  Chinese  lady,  but  it  cramps  five  toes  into 
one,  and  \mfits  her  for  locomotion.  Such  was  the  kind 
of  experience  authoritatively  asserted  by  the  Commo- 
dore's Chinese  counselors ;  and  as  he  did  not  accept  it, 
he  exposed  himself  to  all  the  hostility  of  the  machinery 
which  wealth  could  place  at  the  disposal  of  wounded  van- 
ity and  an  intolerant  selfishness. 

It  was  determined  to  give  every  proper  protection  to 
our  countrymen  and  their  legitimate  interests;  to  redress 
every  wrong  done  them  ;  but  to  abstain  from  entering 
upon  any  war  of  our  own,  or  entering  into  any  alliance 
with  that  of  the  English. 


BATTLE     AND     BLOOD.  425 

To  be  near  the  scene  of  action,  Commodore  Armstrong 
ran  up  in  the  San  Jacinto  to  Whampoa,  the  nearest  an- 
chorage to  Canton ;  and  not  knowing  the  extent  to  which 
American  interests  in  that  city  might  be  endangered,  or 
"whether  the  present  force  was  adequate  to  the  emer- 
gency, he  sent  an  addition  to  that  force  from  the  flag- 
ship ;  two  boat-howitzers,  with  Lieutenant  Bowen,  the 
marines  under  command  of  Captain  Simms ;  Assistant 
Surgeon  Semple  accompanying  the  party. 

In  the  course  of  the  same  day,  however,  finding  that 
the  difficulties  between  the  EngHsh  and  Chinese  had  set- 
tled into  form,  and  that  the  latter  were  taking  regular 
measures  for  resistance  and  attack,  he  determined,  much 
against  the  views  of  the  belligerent  interest,  to  withdraw 
all  our  force  from  the  city  of  Canton,  lest  we  should  be  com- 
promising our  neutrality.  But,  for  the  security  of  such 
of  our  citizens  as  chose  to  exertdse  the  right  of  remain- 
ing in  Canton,  he  determined  to  anchor  one  of  the  sloops- 
of-war  oiF  the  factories,  as  a  defense  and  refuge  for  our 
consul  and  citizens  in  case  those  buildings  were  assaulted, 
as  they  were  liable  to  be  at  any  moment. 

The  propriety  of  these  steps  was  confirmed  by  Captain 
Foote,  who  came  down  from  Canton  to  rejDort  to  and 
advise  with  Commodore  Armstrong ;  and  on  Saturday, 
November  15th,  Captain  Foote  was  on  his  return  to  Can- 
ton, in  a  small,  unarmed  ship's  boat,  when  an  unhappy 
incident  occurred,  Avhich  changed  all  our  relations,  gave 
the  most  exultant  hopes  to  the  belligerent  party,  and  gave 
to  the  EngHsh  the  promise  of  our  alliance,  and  did,  to  a 
limited  extent,  give  them  our  efficient  aid. 

In  the  boat  with  Captain  Foote  were  the  Rev.  Mr.  Macy, 
seamen's  chaplain  at  Whampoa,  Lieutenant  IMacomb,  L^ni- 
ted  States  ship  Portsmouth,  Assistant  Surgeon  Gihon,  of 
the  United  States  ship  Levant,  and  Robert  Sturgiss,  Esq., 
of  the  house  of  Russell  &  Co.   As  they  approached  a  point 


420  IN    CUINA  .   • 

ill  the  river,  dcfentled  by  four  very  strong  and  heavily- 
armed  granite  fortresses,  these  opened  a  fire  upon  the  boat 
with  round  and  grape  shot.  Mr.  Sturgiss  snatched  the 
boat  flag  and  waved  it  conspicuously ;  but  the  firing  still 
continued,  the  shot  falling  thick  around  the  boat,  which 
was  compelled  to  return  to  the  Sau  Jacinto.  Indignation 
now  became  very  general  in  the  ship,  even  among  those 
who  most  regretted  the  imfortunate  event.  It  was  fire 
to  a  magazine. 

The  cause  of  the  assault  could  only  be  a  matter  of  con- 
jecture. At  the  commencement  of  the  English  difficulty 
these  forts  had  been  taken  without  resistance  by  the 
English,  and  at  once  abandoned  by  them.  Some  sup- 
posed that  the  attack  upon  our  boat  was  the  result  of  ac- 
cident from  not  recognizing  her  flag  ;  one  conjecture  was, 
that  the  forts,  after  being  abandoned  by  the  English,  had 
been  occupied  by  Chinese  pirates  and  junk  men  ;  another, 
that  our  having  a  force  in  Canton  had  provoked  the  hos- 
tility of  Yeh  ;  and,  again,  it  was  conjectured  that  Yeh,  in 
accordance  with  his  character,  had  determined  to  make 
war  upon  all  foreigners. 

That  evening,  in  an  interview  with  Commodore  Ai'm- 
strong,  he  said  to  me,  he  had  been  very  desirous  of  pre- 
serving our  neutral  relations,  but  circumstances  seemed 
to  render  it  impossible ;  that  this  outrage  required  a 
prompt  lesson,  and  that  to-morrow  he  should  transfer  his 
flag  to  the  Portsmouth,  and  with  that  ship,  and  the  Le- 
vant, attack  the  forts. 

Very  early  on  the  morning  of  Sunday,  November  16, 
Lieutenant  James  C.  WilUamson,  of  the  San  Jacinto, 
and  Mr.  Ayres,  the  pilot,  were  sent,  in  our  fourth  cut- 
ter, to  sound  the  channel  toward  the  forts ;  and  at  the 
same  time  an  order  was  sent,  by  a  branch  of  the  river, 
around  the  forts,  for  the  return  of  the  detachment  sent 
the  day  before  to  Canton.     The  busy  note  of  warlike 


BATTLE     AND     BLOOD.  427 

preparation,  the  getting  up  and  passing  ammunition,  the 
transfer  of  men  to  the  two  ships,  were  in  strong  contrast 
with  the  sacred  character  and  habitual  usages  of  the  day, 
and  our  Chaplain,  the  Rev.  Robert  Given,  who  had  joined 
us,  for  the  first  time,  the  day  before,  found  that  his  first 
message  of  the  glad  tidings  of  great  joy,  and  of  peace  and 
good  will  amongst  men,  must  silence  its  soothing  sound 
before  the  clatter  of  arms  and  death  dealing-arrangements. 

As  with  these  occupations  the  morning  wore  on,  some 
anxiety  began  to  be  felt  for  the  return  of  Lieutenant  Wil- 
liamson, in  the  fourth  cutter,  which  seemed  unusually  de- 
layed. At  last,  however,  she  was  seen  approaching,  and 
as  she  neared,  the  form  of  a  dead,  or  wounded,  man 
lying  in  her.  It  was  that  of  Edward  Mullen,  the  cox- 
swain, who,  while  standing  in  the  bows  of  the  boat 
sounding,  had  his  head  carried  away  by, a  round  shot 
from  one  of  these  same  forts ;  as  the  mangled  trunk  was 
passed  over  the  ship's  side,  the  indignation  and  spirit  of 
vengeance  were  roused  to  the  highest  degree  of  excite- 
ment, and  was  eloquently  manifested  by  looks  and  fierce 
murmurs,  although  discipline  prevented  its  violent  exj^res- 
sion.     There  was  now  only  one  course  left. 

Captain  Bell,  of  the  San  Jacinto,  with  the  returned  de- 
tachment from  Canton,  Lieutenants  Lewis  and  Carter, 
went  on  board  the  Levant,  of  which  ship  Captain  Bell  took 
command.  Captain  Smith  being  left  in  command  at  Canton. 
He  subsequently  left  there  and  with  Captain  Simms  of  the 
marines  participated  in  their  resiDCCtive  positions  in  the 
capture  of  the  forts. 

Commodore  Armstrong,  with  his  secretary,  Mr.  Van 
Den  Heuvel,  Lieutenant  Rutledge,  of  the  San  Jacinto, 
Assistant  Surgeon  Daniel,  Avho  requested  to  accompany 
me,  and  I,  went  on  board  the  Portsmouth.  Here,  now, 
we  experienced  one  of  those  embarrassments  which  arise 
from  the  exceedingly  injudicious  nature  of  our  squadron 


428  IN    CHINA. 

on  the  coast  of  China.  In  the  rapid  ;tide  currents  of  the 
river,  our  sailing  vessels  were  comparatively  unmanage- 
able, and  the  steamer  San  Jacinto  was  too  heavy  to  as- 
cend to  the  barrier.  It  could  hardly  bo  expected  that 
peaceful  merchant  steamers  could  be  induced  to  tow  ships- 
of-war  under  the  guns  of  hostile  fortresses.  However,  we 
did  employ  the  steamer  Willamette,  commanded  by  an 
American  citizen,  of  Savannah,  Georgia,  Captain  Curry, 
and  the  little  American  steamer  Kum  Fa,  of  which  one  of 
her  owners,  Mr.  Cooke,  also  an  American,  took  charge. 

It  was  fortunate  that  we  could  procure  two  vessels 
under  the  American  flag,  for  that  of  Portugal  could  not 
compromise  its  neutrality  by  coming  into  our  employ,  and 
that  of  England  would  have  identified  us  with  the  English 
quarrel,  and  these  were  all  the  flags  covering  the  steamers 
of  these  waters. 

About  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  Portsmouth  in 
tow  of  the  Willamette,  the  Levant  in  that  of  the  Kum  Fa, 
we  started  for  the  scene  of  action,  which  we  reached  in 
about  an  hour,  when  the  Willamette  cast  us  oft',  within 
five  hundred  yards  of  the  fort,  one  of  the  largest,  lowest 
down  the  river,  on  its  left  bank. 

It  was  a  beautiful,  soft  afternoon,  like  those  of  our 
Indian  summer ;  not  a  breath  was  stirring,  and  the  river 
flowed  without  a  ripple.  All  nature  seemed  to  rest  in 
sleepy  repose,  and  tune  the  heart  to  peace.  At  one  mo- 
ment the  long  granite  walls  and  dark  embrasures  of  the 
forts,  without  sound  or  stir,  gave  effect  by  their  unnatural 
repose  to  the  prevailing  stillness  and  quiet — the  next,  the 
whole  scene  shook  with  noisy  animation;  the  belching  of 
fire  from  these  embrasures,  the  roar  of  the  guns,  and  the 
hurtling  of  the  grape  and  round  shot  ai'ound  the  Ports- 
mouth before  her  anchor  had  been  let  go,  were  mingled 
with  the  loud  and  clear  orders,  and  the  preparations  on 
our  deck  for  bringing  the  ship  into  action.  The  Chinese 
had  boldlv  bea:nn  the  war. 


BATTLE      AXD     BLOOD.  429 

There  was  a  significance  in  the  crack  of  these  guns  and 
the  whistUng  of  the  shot,  beyond  that  of  their  destructive 
association.  There  was  no  waiting  for  explanation,  no 
delay  to  see  our  purpose ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  no  choice 
left  us.  Here  was  stern,  defiant  and  unmistakable  war. 
I  felt  my  respect  for  our  enemy  rise  with  this  reception 
of  us,  and,  at  the  same  time,  I  confess  to  an  indignant 
wish  to  see  it  returned  with  vigor. 

I  have  no  wish  to  give  a  dramatic  exaggeration  of 
the  scenes  of  our  conflict  with  the  Chinese ;  but  I  feel 
that  there  is  a  difl&culty  in  giving  a  truthful  representa- 
tion of  them  to  those  who  are  accustomed  to  the  mistake 
of  regarding  the  Chinese  as  destitute  of  courage  or  mili- 
tary art.  It  is  true  that  the  resulting  loss  of  life  would 
seem  to  indicate  a  contest  of  no  great  difiiculty,  but  all 
agree  that  the  httle  loss  of  life,  under  the  circumstances, 
is  mysterious  and  inexplicable.  There  can  be  no  mistake 
about  the  Chinese  standing  to  their  guns  and  fighting 
their  forts  well  against  the  more  destructive  machinery 
of  their  enemies.  In  some  of  their  recent  conflicts  with 
the  English,  as  I  was  told  by  a  British  oflicer  present, 
they  stood  to  their  guns  on  board  the  junks  until  they 
were  cut  down  at  them.  There  can  be  no  mistake  about 
the  hazard  of  a  small  body  of  foreigners  puUing  on  shore  in 
boats  right  in  the  face  of  the  fire  of  these  heavy  fortresses, 
and  marching  up  to  them,  still  in  the  face  of  that  fire  of 
grape,  gingals  and  rockets,  over  muddy  swamps  and  ditches. 
That  they  Avere  not  all  swept  away  can  only  be  accounted 
for,  by  the  fact  that  the  Chinese,  having  fixed  the  elevation 
of  their  guns,  had  no  ready  means  of  altering  it,  and  this 
elevation  was  generally  too  great.  Their  great  disadvan- 
tage was  the  want  of  explosive  shell.  Finding  that  their 
fire  from  the  walls  did  not  annihilate  the  small  body  of 
men  approaching  them,  they  generally  fled  from  a  hand- 
to-hand  conflict.     I  do  not  regard  this  as  a  want  of  ordi- 


430  IN    CHINA. 

nary  personal  courage.  Had  their  assailants  been  Chi- 
nese, the  parties  woiild  have  met,  as  they  often  do,  to  the 
great  loss  of  life.  ]>ut  they  have  not  yet  got  rid  of  that 
mystical  exaggeration  of  the  jn'ovress  of  the  bearded  bar- 
barian Avhich  strikes  them  with  a  panic  dr^ad  of  personal 
contact.  This,  however,  they  are  getting  rid  of  Again, 
the  small  effect  of  the  fire  from  the  walls,  so  inexj^licable, 
and  so  cheering  to  the  assailing  party,  Avas  equally  mys- 
terious and  proportionably  discouraging  to  those  defend- 
ing the  walls. 

When  the  fire  first  opened  from  the  forts.  Commodore 
Armstrong,  with  his  staff,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Macy  and 
Purser  Dobbin  of  the  Portsmouth,  were  standing  on  the 
poop,  and  so  thickly  came  the  grape,  that  a  little  greater 
depression  of  the  guns  must  have  swept  it. 

Without  steam;  without  wind,  in  a  narrow  and  un- 
known channel,  it  was  sometime  before  the  Portsmouth 
could  bring  her  gims  to  bear  and  open  her  fire,  being  all 
the  time  exposed  to  that  of  the  fort,  but  when  she  did, 
at  about  half  past  three,  the  roar  of  her  heavy  and  effect- 
ive battery,  and  its  quiver  through  the  ship,  was  cheering 
and  consolatory.  Although  Captain  Foote  fought  his 
ship  himself,  the  Commodore  remained  on  deck,  a  specta- 
tor of  the  engagement ;  and  to  those  Avho  had  nothing  to 
do  but  look  on,  it  was  a  great  satisfaction  to  observe  the 
collected  coolness  and  the  perfect  discipline  of  both  ofii- 
cers  and  men,  the  more  remarkable  as  the  officers  and 
crews  of  two  ships,  who  now  met  for  the  first  time,  were 
working  together,  and  many,  if  not  most  of  them,  for 
the  first  time  in  their  lives  under  fire ;  this,  too,  in  a  ser- 
vice which  had  abolished  the  lash,  as  a  means  of  disci- 
pline, five  years  before. 

One  earnest  and  enthusiastic  captain  of  a  gun,  most 
anxious  for  accuracy  of  aim,  would  ask  any  officer  who 
passed  him  just  as  he  finished  training,  "  Will  you  please 


BATTLE     AND     BLOOD.  431 

tell  me,  sir,  how  that  shot  falls  ?"  and  Peter  Gam,  the 
captaiu  of  the  Saa  Jacinto's  band,  Avho  had  no  quarters 
on  board  the  Portsmouth,  occupied  himself  with  a  mus- 
ket on  the  poop-ladder  firing  at  any  Chinaman  he  could 
see  about  the  fort. 

The  Levant,  most  unfortunately,  had  run  on  some  rocks, 
about  a  mile  below,  and  could  not  come  into  tlie  action, 
much  to  the  annoyance  of  aU  on  board,  whose  only  con- 
solation was  in  marking  the  efficiency  of  our  shells.  They 
were  also  gratified  by  seeing  how  wonderfully  we  escaped 
the  hostile  shower,  for,  as  one  of  her  officers  subsequently 
remarked  to  me,  "  the  water  about  you  was  tossed  like 
snow."  In  the  subsequent  engagements,  the  Levant,  by 
her  prominent  position  and  efficiency,  made  up  for  this 
afternoon's  misfortune. 

The  Portsmouth  kept  her  broadside  upon  the  nearest 
fort,  by  means  of  a  spring  upon  her  cable,  but  this,  in  the 
course  of  the  action,  unfortunately  came  uj),  and  she  tailed 
round  with  her  stern  upon  the  fort,  thus  losing,  in  some 
degree,  the  efficiency  of  her  fire,  and  exposed  to  the  rak- 
ing of  that  of  the  fort.  It  therefore  became  necessary 
to  tear  away  the  cabin,  to  run  a  gun  out  of  the  stern  ports. 
Whilst  this  was  going  on,  a  thirty-two  pound  shot  came 
directly  into  the  centre  of  the  cabin,  carrying  away  the 
right  arm  and  dreadfully  crushing  the  right  hii^  of  Pat- 
rick Melvin,  a  marme. 

He  was  at  once  carried  down  to  the  sick  bay,  where 
the  Surgeon  of  the  Portsmouth  amputated  the  arm  and 
made  such  surgical  appliances  as  the  case  demanded. 
From  the  cabin  to  the  sick  bay  was  an  immediate  transi- 
tion from  the  excitement  to  the  horrors  of  war.  Its  gloom 
was  more  shown  tlian  dispelled  by  candles.  The  l)lood 
from  the  wounded  man  damped  his  pallet  and  the  deck, 
while  his  groans  mingled  with  the  crasli  of  the  gnus  di- 
rectly overhead,  the  more  ira^jressive  from  being  so  near 
and  yec  unseen. 


432  IN     CHINA. 

About  dusk,  the  Commodore  feeling  anxious  about  the 
Levant,  had  a  boat  manned  and  pulled  down  to  her,  ac- 
companied by  his  secretary  and  myself.  As  v/e  left  the 
ship,  it  being  dark  enough  to  make  the  flashes  of  the  guns 
quite  bright,  the  cross-fire  between  the  ship  and  fort  had 
a  very  good  efl:ect.  That  of  the  fort  was  very  much 
slackened,  and  before  we  reached  the  Levant  ceased  en- 
tirely. 

It  was  the  Commodore's  purpose  to  have  the  Levant 
kedged  up  against  the  ebb  tide,  but  before  we  reached 
her  we  met,  through  the  gloom  of  the  night,  a  long  line 
of  boats  towing  her  up.  Upon  getting  on  board  we 
found  her  presenting  all  the  discomforts  of  a  man-of-war 
ready  for  action,  and  very  much  crowded  with  men  and 
officers,  the  cabin  torn  away,  and  the  ward-room  all  aslop 
from  wetting  down  the  decks  while  passing  powder. 

It  had  been  originally  intended,  after  the  nearest  fort 
had  been  silenced,  to  land  and  assault  it ;  but  as  the  night 
came  on  dark  and  rainy,  and  we  had  no  guides,  nor  any 
one  acquainted  with  the  plan  of  the  fort  or  the  nature  of 
the  surrounding  ground;  as  we  were  entirely  ignorant  of 
the  extent  of  the  Chinese  force,  or  their  facilities  for  as- 
sailing our  necessarily  small  landing  paity  from  ambus- 
cades, Commodore  Armstrong,  gave  orders  that  no  land- 
ing should  be  attempted  that  night. 

We  all.  Commodore,  Captains  and  officers,  sat  down  to 
supper  in  the  Levant's  ward-room,  and  upon  this  occasion 
I  could  but  remark  how  the  conventionalities  of  rank, 
which  separate,  in  peace,  classes  of  officers  into  messes, 
were  all  swept  away  by  the  first  exigencies  of  war — the 
very  emergency  for  which  it  is  all  intended  as  a  means 
and  a  preparation. 

The  Portsmouth  was  stUl  out  of  position,  and  it  was  of 
course  expected  that  with  the  coming  day  the  forts  would 
reopen  their  attack  upon  her ;  and  at  a  little  after  one 


BATTLE     AND     BLOOD.  433 

o'clock  on  Monday  morning  we  retui-ned  to  her,  and  as 
we  drew  near  could  see,  by  the  gray  light  of  a  clouded 
moon,  the  little  steamer  Kum  Fa,  Golden  Flower,  busily 
at  work  endeavoring  to  get  the  ship  into  an  effective  posi- 
tion. The  crews  of  the  two  ships  had  noAv  been  steadily 
at  work,  from  Saturday  afternoon  until  this  Monday  morn- 
ing, in  the  preparations  for  the  attack  and  in  working  the 
ships ;  and  those  of  the  Portsmouth,  all  of  Sunday  after- 
noon in  fighting  the  guns.  AU  Sunday  night  both  crews 
were  at  work,  and  no  murmur  or  objection  came  fi-om 
them.  When  I  got  down  on  the  berth  deck  of  the  Ports- 
mouth it  was  pitiably  picturesque  to  see  the  groups  who, 
temporarily  relieved  from  labor,  seemed  to  have  fallen 
asleep  in  the  air,  and  then  to  have  sunk  in  a  heap  upon  the 
deck.  And  yet  these  men  received  no  further  encourage- 
ment or  thanks  from  their  government  than  the  mere  ap- 
proval of  the  general  order  which  Commodore  Armstrong 
issued  to  them.  With  so  little  personal  encouragement 
how  can  we  expect  to  have  an  enthusiastic  Navy  ?  Once 
we  treated  our  men  as  devils,  now  we  assume  them  to 
have  the  pure  and  disinterested  motives  of  saints.  What- 
ever the  merits  of  the  contest,  the  men  who  display  sub- 
ordination and  bravery  should  have  some  testimonies  of 
it — a  scrip  of  paper,  or  a  cheap  medal.  Ofiicers  may  be 
trusted  to  other  considerations. 

I  rolled  up  my  coat  for  a  pillow,  and  got  an  hour's  sleep 
on  a  mess-chest  among  the  men.  With  daylight  came  a 
mizzling  rain,  but  still  the  forts  did  not  reopen  their  fire ; 
fortunately  for  us,  for  with  the  strong  tide  ebbing  and 
flowing,  it  seemed  impossible  to  get  the  ships  into  posi- 
tion and  keep  them  so.  Nearly  all  day  the  Portsmouth 
lay  aground,  and  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the  forts;  an 
ofiicer  of  a  division  remarked  to  me,  they  could  rip  our 
three  masts  out  and  we  could  not  bring  a  gun  to  bear. 
Still,  an  Monday  wore  on,  they  remained  passive  and 

19 


434  IN     CUINA. 

silent.  This  course  upon  the  j^avt  of  the  enemy  seemed 
to  call  for  a  change  of  action  on  ours.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  we  came  up  to  the  attack  to  redress  our  injury 
and  insult,  but  ignorant  of  the  motives  and  authorities 
which  caused  it. 

The  present  silence  of  the  forts  might  arise  from  their 
inability  to  continue  further  hostilities,  and  that  near- 
est us  was  seen  to  be  very  much  broken  down  and  dilapi- 
dated, in  which  case  sufficient  correction  bad  been  in- 
flicted. Or  else,  having  made  the  first  assault  in  a  mistake, 
the  authorities  had  determined  to  refrain  from  further 
contest.  In  either  case  the  cessation  of  hostilities  during 
Monday,  afforded  a  favorable  opportunity  for  opening  a 
correspondence  with  the  Chinese  authorities,  to  ascertain 
whether  we  were  to  be  at  continued  war,  or  our  difficulty 
was  to  terminate  with  this  correction  of  the  insult  to  our 
flag. 

For  the  purjjose  of  opening  such  a  correspondence  with 
the  Chinese  Imperial  Commissioner,  Commodore  Arm- 
strong returned  with  his  staff  to  the  San  Jacinto,  at  Wham- 
poa,  leaving  Captain  Foote  in  command,  and  with  orders 
to  get  and  keep  the  ships  in  efficient  position,  but  to  make 
no  attack  upon  the  forts  unless  provoked  to  do  so. 

The  following  extract  from  the  report  of  Commander 
Foote,  refers  to  the  opening  action  of  this  contest : 

"  I  can  not  helj)  believing  that  the  heavy  and  j^rolonged 
cannonading  of  the  Portsmouth,  on  the  16th  inst.,  was 
most  imj^ortant  in  preparing  the  way  for  the  operations 
which  succeeded.  The  powerful  battery  of  this  shij),  con- 
sisting of  sixteen  eight-inch  guns,  each  of  sixty-three  hun- 
dred weight,  so  paralyzed  the  nearest  fort,  which  was 
within  a  range  of  four  hundred  and  eighty  yards,  that  it 
was  never  afterward  able  to  do  the  injury  which  it  might 
otherwise  have  inflicted.  I  am  disposed  to  think,  too, 
that  a  ship  of  a  smaller  calibre  could  not  have  sustained 


PEN,     PENCIL     AND     POWDER.  435 

alone  the  hot  fire  to  which  this  vessel  was  that  day  ex- 
posed, from  the  four  forts  combined,  much  less  could  have 
silenced  the  two  nearest  forts,  as  she  did,  under  a  brisk  fire 
of  between  two  and  three  hours'  dui-ation." 


XXXIV. 

PEN,    PENCIL*    AND    POWDER. 

He  who  stands  upon  the  elevated  bank  at  the  river's 
mouth,  and  looks  down  upon  the  sea  into  which  it 
empties,  will  see  clearly  the  narrow  channel  winding  its 
way  among  the  foaming  breakers,  and  offering  the  only 
safe  entrance  to  the  harbor ;  but  those  who,  down  upon 
the  ocean  surface,  upon  a  level  with  those  breakers,  are 
struggling  in  a  small  boat  to  pass  them,  see  no  such  clear 
channel.  The  line  of  foam,  ujDon  the  one  hand,  overlaps 
that  upon  the  other,  so  that  all  looks  a  continuous  whirl 
of  ingulfing  surf.  Carefully  must  the  helmsman  watch 
the  cresting  wave  on  the  starboard,  and  then  on  his  port 
bow,  as  with  prompt  decision  he  avoids  first  the  one  and 
then  the  other,  picking  his  dangerous  way  by  coolness 
and  skill.  A  fault  in  his  eye,  a  mistake  in  his  hand,  the 
failure  of  an  oar,  and  boat  and  crew  are  swallowed  up  and 
lost. 

In  like  manner,  he  who  now  undertakes  to  judge  the 
events  of  the  East  India  squadron,  at  the  time  we  are 
consideiing  them,  is  in  the  position  of  him  on  the  river's 
ovel-looking  banks,  with  the  whole  scene  spread  out  be- 
fore him,  but  safely  removed  from  its  agitation,  its  respon- 
sibilities, and  its  dangers.  In  a  like  favorable  and  secure 
position  was  the  government  which  coolly  dclilK'rntcd  up- 

*  Chiaeso  Writing  I'cncU. 


436  IN    CHINA. 

OE  these  events,  and  gave  to  Commodore  Armstrong  its 
approbation,  after  he  had  securely  guided  his  counti-y's 
interests  and  his  own  reputation,  through  the  new  and 
unchannelcd  sea  which  threatened  his  destruction. 

The  conflict  in  wliich  we  were  now  involved  gave  a 
fixed  form  and  greater  activity  to  the  various  and  con- 
flicting interests  which,  honorably  and  dishonoi'ably,  at^ 
tempted  to  influence  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
squadron  to  their  own  ends.  The  voice  of  most  was  for 
war. 

When  it  is  considered  that  we  had  received  repeated 
wrongs  and  insults  from  tire  Chinese  ;  that  there  was  not 
the  least  probability  of  these  wrongs  being  redressed, 
except  under  compulsion  ;  that  there  was  no  security  for 
the  future ;  that  the  Chinese  not  only  permitted  us  no 
representative  at  their  court,  but  would  not  allow  face  to 
face  interview's  between  our  highest  representatives  and 
their  own  inferior  officials ;  that  they  were  adepts  in  a 
tortuous,  evasive,  and  interminable  correspondence,  and 
returning  with  contempt  our  communications  in  Enghsh, 
threw  upon  us  the  burden  of  translation.  When  all  these 
things  are  considered,  it  might  be  difficult  for  an  officer 
to  determine  whether,  in  a  progressive  age,  public  opin- 
ion and  that  of  his  government  might  not  require  him  to 
avail  himself  of  the  present  rupture  to  break  down  this 
exclusive  arrogance.  Also,  it  must  be  considered  that  the 
instructions  of  the  government  are,  upon  many  jjoiuts, 
necessai'ily  of  a  vague  character,  admitting  of  difiereut 
opinions  ;  and  the  coui'se  which  might  win  the  approba- 
tion of  one  administration,  might,  upon  the  same  in- 
structions, be  disaiDproved  by  another,  or,  indeed,  by  the 
same  administration  at  a  different  time. 

However,  Commodore  Armstrong  had  determined,  as 
his  policy,  to  limit,  if  possible,  our  present  hostilities  to 
the  event  which  called  them  forth,  and,  great  as  were 


PEN,     PENCIL     AND     POWDER.  437 

the  motives,  enticing  as  the  opportunity,  to  avoid  all  acts 
which  could,  by  the  Chinese,  be  construed  into  an  En- 
glish alliance.  When  two  people,  as  the  English  and  our- 
selves, ahke  in  all  res^iects,  were  at  war  at  the  same  time 
with  a  people  so  ignorant  of  us  both  as  the  Chhiese,  one 
fighting  them  in  one  part  of  the  river  and  one  in  another, 
the  difficulty  of  keeping  up  distinct  action  was  great — 
the  difficulty  of  impressing  the  Chinese  with  a  conviction 
that  Ave  were  not  in  alhance,  greater. 

For  suspending  hostilities  and  entering  into  corresjDond- 
ence  Avith  the  imperial  commission,  a  storm  of  opposition 
assailed  the  commander-in-chief.  Had  he  not  done  so, 
where  and  when  would  the  affair  have  terminated  ? 
What  so  many  desired  would  have  been  effected,  for 
good  or  for  evil — a  permanent  war  with  China,  and  En- 
glish alliance. 

On  Monday  afternoon,  we  proceeded  down  the  river  in 
an  oared  boat,  belonging  to  Mr.  Sturgiss,  and  manned  by 
Chinamen.  We  kept  a  sharp  look-out  upon  the  river's 
bank,  when  our  course  lay  close  to  it,  and  also  upon  the 
Chinese  boats  in  the  river.  It  is  at  all  times  infested  with 
pirates,  but,  under  present  circumstances,  we  should  have 
been  an  honorable  and  profitable  prize.  The  movements 
of  one  boat  were  very  suspicious  ;  from  the  earnestness 
with  which  it  was  watched  by  our  Chinese  boat's  crew, 
they  must  have  thought  so,  as  well  as  ourselves.  How- 
ever, we  reached  Whampoa  without  interruption. 

So  much  of  the  force  had  been  drawn  from  the  San 
Jacinto,  she  was  almost  defenseless  in  case  of  an  attack. 
Boys,  servants,  and  all,  there  were  not  more  than  sixty 
persons  on  board.  With  the  same  boldness  Avith  which 
they  had  attacked  the  English  ships  Avith  fire  rafts,  they 
might,  by  dropping  one  or  two  junks,  or  lorchas,  along- 
side, in  the  dark,  have  thrown  two  or  three  hundred  men 
on  board,  and  overwhelmed  our  small  number — true,  they 


438  IN     CHINA. 

must  make  up  their  minds  to  much  loss.  The  Commo- 
dore ordered  forty  of  the  San  Jacinto's  crew  to  return  to 
her.  On  board  the  San  Jacinto  we  found  Dr.  Peter 
Parker,  United  States  Commissioner  to  China — and  I  here 
take  the  opj)ortnnity  to  do  this  gentleman  justice.  The 
indignation  which  was  caused  by  the  suspension  of  hostili- 
ties craved  some  object  of  personal  ^attack,  and  hence 
jumped  to  the  conclusion  that  it  had  been  instigated  by 
the  commissioner;  and  he  was  assailed  by  violent  lan- 
guage and  intemperate  newspaper  comments.  One  gen- 
tleman went  so  far  as  to  protest,  on  the  j^art  of  himself 
and  other  American  residents  of  Canton  and  Hong  Kong, 
verbally  and  in  writing,  against  this  assumed  action  of  Dr. 
Parker.  The  truth  was,  Dr.  Parker  had  nothing  to 
do  with  the  matter.  The  course  of  action  was  determined 
on,  and  the  following  letter  drawn  up,  before  he  reached 
the  San  Jacinto.  I  allude  to  these  things  here,  as  illus- 
trative of  the  conflict  of  oj^inion,  and  because  the  oppor- 
tunity occurs  of  exonerating  the  United  States  Commis- 
sioner fi-om  any  blame  in  the  matter.  He  fully  sustained 
the  action  which  Commodore  Armstrong  had  decided  on, 
but  was  not  responsible  for  it. 

COPY. 

United  States  Flag-Ship  San  Jacdtto, 
Whasipoa,  Novemler  11th,  1856. 

SiE  :— 

I  regret  to  have  to  notify  your  Excellency  that  it 
became  my  duty,  on  the  16th  instant,  to  assault  and  silence 
the  works  known  as  the  "  Barrier  forts,"  on  the  river 
between  Whampoa  and  Canton.  The  following  are  the 
unpleasant  circumstances  which  imposed  this  duty  upon 
me. 

On  the  15th  instant,  a  boat  of  the  United  States  ship 
Portsmouth,  in  which  were  Commander  Foote  of  the 


PEN,      PENCIL     AND     POWDEK.  439 

Portsmouth,  with  other  officers  of  ray  command,  and 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  in  passing  peacefully  to  Can- 
ton, was  repeatedly  fired  upon  by  both  round  and  gi'Ape 
shot  from  these  forts,  and  impeded  in  their  course  upon 
waters  in  which  she  had  a  right  to  be,  and  to  expect  pro- 
tection rather  than  assault.  No  possible  mistake  could, 
exist  as  to  the  nationality  of  the  boat,  as  she  bore  not  only 
the  flag  of  her  country,  but  it  was  waved  distinctly  toward 
the  forts  by  Mr.  Sturgiss  of  Canton. 

This  outrage  is  the  more  unjustifiable,  because,  dur- 
ing the  hostilities  existing  between  your  government  and 
the  English  authorities  in  China,  it  has  been  the  endea- 
vor, both  of  myself  and  the  officers  under  my  command, 
carefully  to  preserve  that  neutral  position  proper  to  the 
friendly  relations  existing  between  the  governments  of  the 
United  States  and  of  the  Chinese  emj^ire.  The  officer, 
Commander  Foote,  who  was  the  subject  of  this  hostile 
assault,  has  been  especially  cautious  and  prudent  in  main- 
taining the  neutrality,  and  j^rompt  in  checking  any  meas- 
ure which  might  infringe  it.  At  the  \erj  time  he  was 
fired  upon,  he  was  on  his  way  to  Canton  to  withdraw  the 
American  force  which  had  been  landed  to  protect  the  lives 
and  property  of  American  citizens  during  the  unsettled 
state  of  affairs  in  Canton  at  the  commencement  of  the  dif- 
ficulty before  alluded  to.  It  was  my  wish  to  trust  the 
security  of  neutrals  and  their  interests  to  the  obliga- 
tions and  the  sense  of  justice  of  your  Excellency's  govern- 
ment. 

Having  taken  the  means  now  communicated  to  you  to 
redress  the  outrage  upon,  and  the  insults  to,  the  flag  of 
the  United  States,  I  now  ask  of  your  Excellency  an  ex- 
planation of  the  attack  made  upon  that  flag,  and  a  proper 
guaranty  for  its  future  security. 

Unless  a  satisfiictory  reply  of  your  Excellency  to  this 
communication  shall  be  returned  within  twenty-four  hours 


440  IN     CHINA. 

from  the  delivery  of  this  note,  I  shall  take  such  further 
steps  as  I  may  deem  the  gravity  of  the  occasion  to  re- 
quire. 

Very  respectfully,  etc.,  etc.,  etc., 
{Signed)  Jas.  Armstrong, 

Commandcr-in-Cliief  of  the  United  States  Naval  Forces 
in  tlie  East  India  and  China  Seas. 

His  Excellency, 
The  Imperial  Commissioner  Yeh,  etc.^  etc.,  etc.,  Canton. 
True  copy.  A.  Van  Den  Heutel, 

Commodore's  Secretary. 

A  feeling  of  annoyance  at  the  substitution  of  negotia- 
tion for  continued  hostility  was  naturally  felt  by  the  offi- 
cers and  crews  of  the  two  ships  left  lying  off  the  forts, 
and  they  were  impatient  to  have  the  cessation  of  hostili- 
ties terminated. 

The  night  of  the  day  on  which  the  Commodore  had 
commenced  the  correspondence,  the  little  steamer  Kum 
Fa,  which  had  been  kept  as  busy,  as  bustling,  and  as  buz- 
zing as  a  bee,  during  all  these  operations,  came  down 
from  the  forts  with  a  delegation  of  officers  from  those  ships, 
and  a  leading  merchant  of  Canton,  to  urge  the  Commo- 
dore to  go  on  with  the  assault.  He,  however,  adhered  to 
his  determination  to  make  inquiry  into  the  state  of  affairs. 
The  officers  returned  to  their  shi^DS,  and  the  gentleman, 
unwilling  to  give  up  his  views,  remained  with  us  over 
night. 

At  an  early  hour  on  the  following  morning,  I  was 
called  from  my  bed  by  a  message  from  the  Commodore. 
Ul^on  entering  the  cabin,  I  found  the  United  States  Com- 
missioner, the  commander-in-chief,  and  the  commercial 
representative  of  American  opinion,  in  earnest  consulta- 
tion. 

The  Commodore  did  me  the  honor  to  say,  that  in  the 
existing  emergency  he  wished  to  act  with  the  greatest 


PEN,      TEXCIL     AXD     TOWDER.  441 

prudence,  and  they  were  now  holding  a  council  upon  the 
course  to  be  pursued,  Avhich  he  wished  me  to  join. 

The  result  was  a  conclusion  to  send  the  above  letter, 
and  know  definitely  and  justly  where  we  stood.  It  should 
be  particularly  noticed  that  the  whole  ground  of  the  let- 
ter is  upon  the  assumption  that  the  forts  were  silenced, 
or  had  ceased  from  the  disposition  to  be  aggressive. 

The  gentleman  protested  against  the  conclusion  of  the 
council,  and  it  is  only  just  to  say,  he  assigned  as  a  reason 
that  negotiation  would  lead  to  war  with  China,  rather 
than  prevent  it.  Yet  this  same  gentleman  had  said,  upon 
the  authority  of  Howqua,  a  prominent  Canton  merchant 
in  the  confidence  of  the  Chinese  authorities,  that  the  firing 
upon  our  boats  was  the  result  of  accident  and  not  inten- 
tion. Such  a  rumor  was,  in  itself,  a  sufficient  reason  to 
induce  a  just  man  to  refrain  from  the  further  destruction 
of  life.  We  had,  probably,  by  the  bombardment  of  No- 
vember 16,  destroyed  many  hundred  Chinamen,  and  yet, 
a  member  of  the  same  firm  as  the  gentleman  now  alluded 
to  remarked  to  Commodore  Armstrong,  "  he  hoped  soon 
to  hear  the  booming  of  his  guns  around  the  walls  of 
Canton  !" 

Almost  every  communication  which  came  down  from 
the  forts  manifested  the  existing  impatience  at  their  inac- 
tivity under  the  circumstances  expressed  by  one  of  them, 
"  The  game  is  ours  if  we  are  permitted  to  start  it." 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  18th,  Lieutenant  Bowen,  with 
forty  men,  rejoined  the  San  Jacinto,  leaving  the  force  of 
the  forts  about  five  hundred  strong.  A  new  condition  of 
things  was  presented  by  the  report  of  Lieutenant  Bowen. 

He  said  the  enemy  was  no  longer  quiet  and  inactive, 
but  was  renewing  and  strengthening  liis  works,  erecting  a 
temporary  battery  near  the  sliijis,  on  Avhich  was  mounted 
a  gun  of  large  calibre,  trained  directly  upon  the  Levant's 
quarter. 

19* 


442  IX     CUINA. 

Tills  wns  a  condition  of  things  the  reverse  of  that  upon 
M-hich  the  cessation  of  hostilities  had  rested.  It  was  re- 
newed aggression,  and  therefore  Commodore  Armstrong 
at  once  said  to  Commander  Foote,  "  that,  pending  ne- 
gotiations lie  was  unwilUng  to  take  any  aggressive  steps 
without  sufficient  cause,"  but  these  hostile  movements  on 
the  part  of  the  Chinese,  Commander  Foote  was  directed 
to  prevent  by  such  measures  as  his  judgment  might  di- 
rect, even  if  they  led  to  the  occupation  of  the  forts. 

Before  he  was  aware  that  such  instructions  had  been 
sent  him.  Captain  Foote  wrote  for  authority  to  take  these 
very  steps,  and  saying  that  his  force  was  sufficient  for  any 
orders  the  Commodore  might  give.  These  instructions 
were  sent  him  on  the  19th  November. 

The  want  of  a  proper  steamer  was  felt  more  and  more, 
and  repeated  applications  came  from  the  forts  for  one. 
The  Commodore  endeavored  to  engage  the  American 
armed  steamer  Antelope,  belonging  to  the  house  of  Rus- 
sell &  Co.,  but  she  was  dismantled  at  Hong  Kong  un- 
dergoing repairs ;  the  Lily,  belonging  to  an  American 
house,  was  under  the  Portuguese  flag,  and  the  Governor 
of  Macao  refused  to  let  her  be  so  employed.  Our  only 
resource  was  continuing  the  litte  Kum  Fa,  which  was 
therefore  chartered  and  placed  under  the  command  of 
Mr.  Sheppard,  the  Sailing  Master  of  the  Portsmouth. 

At  this  juncture  Dr.  Parker  addressed  a  circular  to  the 
American  residents  at  Canton,  advising  their  removal,  as 
the  extent  of  hostilities  could  not  be  foreseen,  and  no 
force  could  now  be  spared  from  the  United  States  squadron 
for  their  protection.  The  clouds  of  war  were  settling 
about  us. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  20th,  our  ships  were  at 
work;  we  could  distinctly  hear  the  report  of  the  guns 
and  see  the  smoke  rising  over  the  ti-ee  tops.  At  eleven 
A.M.  the  look-out  at  the  mast-head   reported  that  the 


PEN,     PENCIL     AND     POWDEK.  443 

boats  were  landing  to  attack  tlie  forts,  wliile  one  of  the 
ships  was  shelling ;  in  half  an  hour  more  all  firing  had 
ceased.  About  two  in  the  afternoon  the  Kum  Fa  was 
seen  approaching  from  the  scene  of  conflict,  and,  we 
feared,  to  bring  some  killed  or  wounded  ship  or  messmate. 
Fortunately  our  apprehensions  were  unfounded — she  came 
for  a»supply  of  shot  and  shell.  The  largest  and  nearest 
fort,  that  which  sustained  the  bombardment  of  the  Ports- 
mouth on  the  16th,  had  been  for  three  hours  in  our 
possession,  and  was  then  undergoing  the  work  of  demo- 
lition. The  crew  of  the  Kum  Fa  were  quite  worn  out 
with  their  continued  labors,  and  being  Chinese,  objected 
to  doing  such  duty  as  towing  our  ships  under  the  fire  of 
the  forts,  not  upon  any  grounds  of  patriotism,  but,  very 
sensibly,  because  they  did  not  ship  for  such  hazards. 
Volunteers  were  therefore  called  upon  from  our  own 
ship's  company,  and  the  crew,  mistaking  the  extent  to 
which  they  were  wanting,  made  a  general  rush  to  the 
mast,  each  one  urging  particular  reasons  why  he  should 
have  preference.  Those  who  had  been  at  the  forts  and 
brought  down  before  the  recommencement  of  hostilities, 
thought  that  a  reason  why  they  should  be  sent  back 
again.  As,  however,  only  six  firemen  were  actually 
wanting,  these  were  selected.  Tlie  engineers  also  all 
volunteered,  but  Settled  their  claims  by  drawing  lots, 
which  fell  upon  Mr.  Biles  and  Mr.  Victor. 

At  seven'in  the  evening  the  steamer  again  came  down 
with  Lieutenant  Simpson,  of  the  Portsmouth,  to  report 
the  day's  pi-oceedings  to  the  Commodore. 

The  fort  taken  had  forty-seven  guns  mounted.  Its 
Avails  were  twelve  feet  thick  below,  supporting  a  project- 
ing platform  from  which  rose  a  granite  wall  four  feet 
thick.  The  killed  had  all  been  removed  from  within  the 
fort,  but  outside  were  about  fifty  dead  soldiers  and  a 
mandarin.     After  taking  possession  of  the  work  a  hostile 


444  IN     CHINA. 

demonstration  ^yas  made  by  from  four  to  five  thousand 
men  from  a  neighboring  village.  A  small  party  was  dis- 
patched to  disperse  them,  and  succeeded,  one  of  our  men 
being  wounded  in  the  leg. 

Two  of  our  boys  were  accidentally  killed  by  the  dis- 
charge of  a  Minnie  rifle  in  landing.  One  man  was 
wounded  by  the  bursting  of  a  gun  in  the  fortj  and 
another  was  shot  in  the  thigh.  So  far  our  loss  has  been 
three  killed  and  four  wounded.  Most  probably,  in  the 
shelling  of  Sunday  and  that  of  to-day,  there  have  been 
four  or  five  hundred  Chinese  killed  in  all  the  forts,  so  that 
Mullen's  spirit  is  likely  to  have  a  large  attendance  in  the 
"  world  of  the  hereafter." 

At  the  same  time  that  Lieutenant  Simpson  came  to 
rejDort  the  occupation  of  the  fort,  the  following  reply 
was  received  from  Yeh : — 

COPT.— TEAXSLATIOX. 

Yeh,  Imperial  Commissioner^  Governor  General  of  the 
Two  Kwang^  etc.,  etc.,  hereby  replies  on  business. 
On  the  1 9th  inst.  I  received  your  Excellency's  commu- 
nication, and  have  made  myself  acquainted  with  its  con- 
tents. The  American  Consul,  Perry,  previously  informed 
me  that  in  consequence  of  the  difiiculties  between  the 
Chinese  and  EngHsh,  he  desired  that  protection  might  be 
given  [to  Americans,]  to  which  I  replied  on  tlie  24th  ult. 
After  the  Enghsh  cannonaded  the  city  of  Canton,  the 
peoj)le  were  all  in  a  state  of  unmanageable  excitement, 
and  I  was  afraid  that  I  might  have  no  leisure  to  look 
after  their  protection,  of  which  I  informed  him  on  the 
27th  ult.  Subsequent  to  that  day,  the  gentry  and  people 
came  to  me,  representing  that  American  men-of-war  were 
stealthily  coming  to  the  place,  and  that  it  was  not  proper, 
having  regard  to  the  constant  good  "will  and  intercourse 


PEN,     PENCIL     AND     POWDEE.  445 

between  China  and  the  United  States,  for  them  thus  to 
be  helping  the  EngUsh  attack  the  city,  and  this  I  stated 
to  Mr.  Perry,  that  he  might  make  inquiry  and  inform 
me. 

Furthermore,  seeing  that  the  people  of  Canton  are  now 
engaged  in  a  struggle  with  the  English,  in  which  one  of 
the  parties  must  succumb,  and  being  afraid  lest  I  might  not 
be  able  to  extend  protection  to  the  Americans,  I  deemed 
the  best  course  would  be  for  their  merchants  and  people 
to  withdraw,  for  then  all  risk  of  becoming  involved  would 
be  avoided,  and  learning  also  that  men-of-war  were  off 
Canton  to  protect,  it  might  be  difficult  to  distinguish  to 
what  country  they  belonged  in  the  event  of  an  engage- 
ment with  troops.  If,  however,  the  merchants  and  citi- 
zens would  move  away,  the  men-of-war  being  uncalled 
for  would  follow  them,  all  i-isk  of  a  chance  wound  or 
becoming  involved  would  be  taken  away,  and  all  appre- 
hension and  doubt  [of  their  intentions]  on  the  minds  of 
the  natives  would  also  be  removed.  These  important 
considerations  I  communicated  to  Mr.  Perry  on  the  4th 
and  10th  insts.  for  his  information.  Knowing  the  amicable 
relations  which  have  long  existed  with  the  United  States, 
I  spared  no  trouble  in  repeating  these  things  often  to 
him,  suj)posing  that  he  would  make  them  known  in  detail 
to  yonr  Excellency. 

Why,  then,  did  American  vessels  again  pass  these  forts, 
and  tliat,  too,  at  a  time  when  our  troops  were  on  the 
alert  and  very  watchful  ?  An  American  man-of  war  can 
be  distinguished  from  an  English  one,  or  from  her  troops, 
only  by  her  flag ;  but  from  a  long  distance  the  two  can 
not  instantly  be  disorhninated.  It  should  be  remembered, 
too,  that  the  minds  of  the  people  are  now  much  excited 
and  confused,  and  it  is  not  surprising  if  it  be  difficult  to 
prevent  mistakes  and  [false  imauthorized]  acts  among 
them.     I  have  already  said  so  and  repeated  my  remarks, 


440  IN     CHINA. 

but  tliey  wcro  all  taken  as  if  no  one  heard  or  paid  atten- 
tion to  them.  Your  declarations  in  this  letter  now  re- 
ceived, tlierefore,  respecting  so  inexcusahly  firing  upon 
and  insulting  the  flag,  is  what  I  request  may  be  carefully 
noted,  for  I,  the  Governor  General,  really  fearful  that  just 
such  an  occurrence  might  take  place,  thought  of  it  before- 
hand, and  with  the  best  intentions  on  my  part  so  informed 
Mr.  Perry.  ^Vhy,  I  ask,  did  he  not  let  your  Excellency 
know  it  ? 

Hereafter,  if  American  vessels,  large  or  small,  do  not 
pass  these  forts,  then  all  will  be  harmonious  and  properly 
arranged.  For  this  end  I  send  this  reply,  wishing  your 
Excellency  the  greatest  happiness  and  good  will. 

True  copy.  A.  Van  Den  Heuvel, 

Commodore's  Secretary. 

C03rM:ODOEE   ARilSTRONG, 

Commander-in-Chief  of  the  United  States  Naval 
Forces  in^ast  India  and  China  Seas. 
Caxtox,  Xovember  20,  1856. 

True  translation.     {Signed)  S.  Wells  Williams, 

Secretary  and  Interpreter  to  U.  S.  Legation  to  China. 

Although  it  did  not  alter  the  necessities  under  which 
the  naval  commander-in-chief  had  acted,  this  letter  of 
Teh  showed  that  he  had  reasonable  grounds  for  misap- 
prehending our  position.  Unfortunately,  now  that  he  had 
received  an  official  assurance  of  our  neutral  position,  he 
did  not  disavow  the  act  of  his  forts,  make  any  apology 
for  it,  or  promise  our  flag  that  respect  in  the  future  to 
which  it  was  entitled.  It  should  be  noted,  too,  that  al- 
though the  French  had,  equally  with  ourselves,  garrisoned 
Canton,  the  French  flag  was  freely  passing  with  impunity 
those  very  forts  with  which  we  were  at  war.  It  was 
very  apparent  the  hostile  action  of  the  forts  had  been 
authorised  by  Yeh.  His  disj)atch  was  replied  to  as  fol- 
owls: 


PEN,      PEI^CIL     AND     POWDER.  447 

COPT. 

United  States  Flag-Ship  San  Jacinto, 
"Whampoa,  Mvemher  20,  1856. 
SiK, 

On  the  l7th  instant  I  had  the  honor  to  address 
your  Excellency  a  communication  infoi-ming  your  Excel- 
lency that  I  had  attacked  and  silenced  the  "  Barrier  forts" 
for  an  unprovoked  outrage  upon  one  of  the  boats  of  this 
squadron.  Xot  wishing  to  carry  measures  of  redress  into 
those  of  aggression,  I  suspended  the  fire  upon  the  of- 
fending forts  until  I  could  receive  an  explanation  from 
your  Excellency.  Availing  himself  of  this  forbearance, 
the  officer  in  charge  of  the  forts  was  observed  renewing 
and  strengthenmg  his  means  of  assault.  I,  therefore, 
was  compelled  to  order  this  hostile  movement  to  be 
stopped,  and  the  result  (the  occupation  of  one  of  your 
forts  by  a  part  of  my  force,  and  destruction)  has,  I  pre- 
sume, been  communicated  to  your  Excell^icy  by  the  offi- 
cer in  command. 

Your  reply  to  my  communication  has  this  moment, 
seven  o'clock,  p.  m.,  reached  me,  and  considering  the  de- 
sire expressed  by  your  Excellency  to  preserve  friendly  re- 
lations with  the  United  States,  and  the  means  I  was 
taking  to  preserve  those  relations  and  strict  neutrality  at 
the  time  of  the  assault  upon  my  boat,  it  is  very  much  to 
be  regretted  that  the  reply  of  your  Excellency,  just  re- 
ceived, is  not  more  satisfactory.  You  do  not  give  me 
any  guarantee  that  the  flag  of  the  United  States  shall 
have  that  safety  upon  the  waters  under  your  Excellency's 
jurisdiction  to  which  the  amicable  relations  of  the  coun- 
tries would  entitle  it.  Ujion  the  contrary,  you  intimate 
that  if  it  attempts  to  pass  those  forts  it  must  expect  in- 
sult and  hostility.  Whatever  may  be  your  Excellency's 
purpose  in  this  declaration,  and  I  trust  you  have  not  con- 
sidered its  extent,  it  amounts  to  a  declaration  of  war  u2)on 


448  IN     CHINA. 

the  flag  of  the  United  States,  -which  has  the  same  right 
as  that  of  any  other  nation  holduig  peaceable  relations 
wdth  the  Chinese  empire  to  free  and  peaceable  passoge 
on  its  waters.  And  it  now  becomes  my  duty  to  take  such 
steps  as  I  may  deem  proper  to  secure  it  that  right.  But 
I  assure  your  Excellency  there  has  not  been  the  least  in- 
tention, nor  is  there  the  least  wish  on  my  part  to  engage 
in  unprovoked  hostilities  against  the  Chinese  empire. 

I  therefore  shall  be  most  happy  to  learn  from  your  Ex- 
cellency that  you  have  removed  the  necessity  of  continued 
hostile  action,  .by  providing  for  the  flag  and  for  the  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States  that  security  under  your  Excel- 
lency's government  to  which  they  are  entitled,  and  which 
will  result  in  the  happy  restoration  of  peaceful  relations. 
Very  respectfully,  etc.,  etc.,  etc., 

{SigyiecT)         James  Armstrong, 

Commander-in-Chief  of  the  United  States 
Naval  Forces  in  the  East  India  and  China  Seas. 

His  Exceixency  Yeh, 

Imperial  Commissioner,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.. 
Canton. 

True  copy.  A.  Yan  Den  Hettvel, 

Commodore's  Secretary. 

On  the  same  day,  ISTotember  20th,  H.  M.  S.  Coroman- 
del  came  down  to  Whampoa  from  Canton,  bringing  Dr. 
Parker  a  letter  from  Sir  John  Bowring,  earnestly  asking 
an  interview  for  himself  and  Admiral  Seymour  with  the 
commissioner  and  Commodore  Armstrong  ;  and  ^^roposing 
that  if  these  gentlemen  could  not  come  up  to  Canton,  Sir 
John  and  the  Admiral  would  on  the  morrow  visit  the  San 
Jacinto.  Sir  John  went  on  to  say  they  had  been  actively 
shelhng  the  residence  of  Yeh  and  other  parts  of  Canton, 
and  yet  the  Chinese  commissioner  continued  unyielding  ; 
and  concluded  by  the  wish  that  the  political  atmosphere 
was  as  beautiful  as  the  physical  one  of  to-day. 


PEN,     PENCIL     AND     POWDEE.  449 

The  commissioner  and  Commodore  concluded  to  go  up 
to  Canton  in  the  morning  in  the  steamer  LUy,  which  had 
been  placed  at  their  disposition  for  this  purpose  by  her 
owner,  Captain  Eudicott,  and  to  meet  the  British  func- 
tionaries there.  I  was  directed  by  the  Commodore  to  ac- 
comjjany  him.  We  were  off  at  an  early  houi-,  by  seven 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  weather  continued  its  soft 
'  brightness,  and  we  made  the  run  by  the  picturesque  pas- 
sage of  Blenheim  Reach ;  back  of  the  forts.  The  Chinese 
peasants  and  fishermen  were  quietly  harvesting  their  rice 
fields  or  spreading  their  nets  in  the  river.  These  peaceful 
occupations  contrasted  with  the  din  of  war  which  two 
powerful  nations  were  making  on  their  country.  For  at 
the  same  moment  over  these  fields  and  in  another  reach 
of  the  river,  could  be  heard  the  roar  of  our  guns,  and 
could  be  seen  the  white  smoke  of  the  bursting  shells  in 
a  space  of  landscape  framed  in  like  a  picture  between  two 
taU  pagodas. 

"  Not  war  if  possible, 
Lest  from  the  abuse  of  war 
The  desecrated  shrine,  the  trampled  year, 
The  moldering  homestead  and  the  household  flower 
Tom  from  the  Untel." 

We  reached  Canton  about  ten  o'clock,  but  not  the 
Canton  of  my  last  summer's  visit.  The  crowd  of  Chinese 
population  living  along  the  river  had  gone.  The  coun- 
try and  the  canal  boats,  the  busy  sampan,  the  gilded 
flower-boats,  had  all  gone,  and  the  river,  once  busy  with 
life  and  occupation,  now  flowed  between  desolate  borders. 
Forts  in  ruin,  houses  torn  and  being  torn  down,  junks 
extemporized  into  guard-boats  Avatched  over  by  red- 
coated  sentries,  grim  men-of-war  lying  in  the  channel, 
with  a  net-work  of  booms  ahead  to  keep  ofi"  fire  rafts, 
were  noAv  the  river  scenes. 


450  IN     CU  I  N  A. 

The  once  clean  and  quiet  garden-walks  were  now  lit- 
tered with  lubbisli.  Bullock  Y>ens,  shanties  and  tents 
now  occupied  the  grass  plots,  and  soldiers  were  drilling 
around  the  square.  The  club-house  and  library  were 
turned  into  quarters  for  the  soldiers  and  sailors. 

Tile  house  of  the  United  States  Consul,  to  which  he  ao- 
companied  us,  had  been  shut  up  for  some  days.  It  had 
last  been  occupied  by  a  part  of  our  forces.  The  hall  was 
lumbered  with  then*  various  stores,  and  the  rooms  above 
were  in  the  forlorn  desolation  to  which  they  had  been 
abandoned  by  the  sudden  departure  of  our  garrison.  A 
few  gold-fish  moving  languidly  in  the  vase  added  to  the 
dreariness  of  the  scene.  Before  locking  up  the  house 
again  we  gave  them  another  lease  of  life  in  a  fresh  supply 
of  water.  We  walked  through  the  long  aisles  which  led 
through  the  factories  to  the  various  residences.  At  my 
last  visit  it  was  lively  with  compradors,  shrofls,  and  Chi- 
nese clerks,  and  ringing  with  the  clatter  of  the  piles  and 
masses  of  dollars  being  weighed.  Now,  every  door  was 
closed,  and  I  and  my  companion  were  the  only  human 
beings  present.  At  the  end  we  came  out  upon  a  mass 
of  bricks  and  rubbish  into  which  some  houses  back  of  the 
hongs  had  been  tumbled.  The  Chinese  streets  in  which 
we  had  been  accustomed  to  buy  elegant  wares  were  of 
course  deserted,  the  stores  were  empty,  and  the  doors 
standing  open.  At  the  end  of  one  of  these  streets  two 
ragged  Chinese  children,  a  small  girl  and  smaller  boy, 
seeing  us  approach,  fell  on  their  knees  and  put  up  their 
hands  for  charity.  But  the  sentry  on  post  at  the  opposite 
end  warned  them  off,  and  they  fled  to  their  hiding-place 
and  starvation. 

Upon  my  return  from  this  \'iew  of  war's  desolation,  we 
proceeded  to  meet  the  British  functionaries  at  their  resi- 
dence in  the  British  consulate.  At  the  opening  of  the  in- 
terview. Sir  John  remarked  that  every  thing  there  said, 


PEN,     PENCIL      AND     POWDER.  451 

must  be  strictly  confidential.  As  the  result  has  since  been 
given  the  English  public,  by  official  communication,  my  ob- 
ligation of  secrecy  is,  of  course,  at  an  end. 

Sii-  John  said  that  Yeh  had  shown  an  obstinacy  and  deter- 
mination not  anticipated,  and  that  it  could  only  be  accounted 
for  by  supposing  that  he  had  entered  upon  a  course  which, 
unless  crowned  by  success,  would  lead  to  his  decapitation. 
The  difficulty  now  turned  upon  the  right  of  foreign  offi- 
cials to  meet  the  Chinese  authorities  in  the  city  of  Can- 
ton. For  the  support  of  the  narrow  exclusivencss  which 
prohibited  such  interviews  he  was  bringing  upon  himself 
and  people  all  this  trouble.  In  the  name  of  the  three  treaty 
powers  they  had  demanded  the  right,  and  were  detei'- 
mined  to  maintain  it;  and  the  object  of  the  present  inter- 
view was  to  ask  the  cooperation  of  the  United  States. 
He  said,  further,  we  had  a  common  cause,  and  his  instruc- 
tions were  to  confer  with  the  representatives  of  the  United 
States  and  France.  To  this.  Doctor  Parker  replied,  that 
we  admitted  the  common  interest,  but  that  it  was  the  pur- 
pose of  our  government  to  negotiate  this  right  in  the 
renewal  of  our  treaty,  but  that  we  had  no  warrant  for 
demanding  it  by  force,  and  that  we  could  not  complicate 
our  present  trouble  with  the  city  question.  Commodore 
Armstrong  said  that  his  authority  extended  only  to  re- 
dressing the  injuries  offered  our  Hag  and  countrymen, 
and  what  steps  this  might  lead  him  to  take  he  could  not 
foresee.  Admiral  Seymour  said  he  had  no  specific  instruc- 
tions upon  the  subject ;  but  in  redressing  the  injuries  done 
his  flag,  the  necessity  for  negotiation  and  explanation  fol- 
lowed, and  upon  that  arose  the  question  of  the  place  where 
and  the  persons  with  whom  such  negotiation  should  be 
held.  The  focus  of  opposition  to  general  usage  upon  this 
subject,  was  Canton,  and  tlie  cxolusivcness  broken  here, 
it  would  bo  easy  to  remove  it  from  every  other  portion 
of  the  empire. 


452  IN"     CHINA. 

Doctor  Parker  remarked,  that  tliey  were  somewhat  dif- 
ferently circumstanced  to  us.  The  specific  right  they  con- 
tended for  had  once  been  conceded  them  by  treaty.  We 
could  not  claim  this. 

The  gentlemen  then  hoped  that  our  flag  would  not  be 
withdrawn  from  Canton,  as  it  would  in  so  much  weaken 
the  moral  force  of  their  demand ;  and,  moreover,  it  would 
be  represented  at  Pekin  that  wc,  one  of  the  present  con- 
tending parties,  had  been  expelled  from  Canton.  There 
was  no  hesitation  in  giving  the  assurance  that  our  flag 
should  be  maintained  in  Canton.  Admiral  Seymour  said 
that  if  we  could  not  spare  a  force  from  our  present  busi- 
ness to  maintain  our  flag  in  Canton,  he  would  look  out  for 
that  himself.  In  the  preliminary  conversation  of  the  inter- 
view, Sir  John  Bowring  had  made  an  allusion  to  a  propo- 
sition of  his  made  previously  to  Dr.  Parker  in  writin j,  to 
detach  a  small  steamer  from  the  British  squadron,  at  once, 
and  go  to  the  Gulf  of  Pe-che-Le,  and  both  powers  com- 
municate with  the  court  of  Pekin.  Dr.  Parker  had,  for 
various  reasons,  discountenanced  it.  Sir  John,  now  resum- 
ing the  subject,  said  he  also  did  not  think  it  expedient ; 
that  it  was  not  well  to  detach  any  force  from  the  squad- 
ron, that  there  was  little  likelihood  of  success,  and  that 
instead  of  one  Yeh  they  would  have  hundreds  to  contend 
with. 

Indi\ddually,  I  think  that  this  has  been  the  radical  er- 
ror of  all  foreign  negotiations  v>'ith  the  Chinese.  That  in- 
stead of  treating  with  subordinates  two  thousand  miles 
away  from  the  central  government,  we  should  have  treated 
with  that,  or  not  at  all.  If  the  distant  locality  has  a  spec- 
ial interest  to  maintain,  the  remote  court  looks  ujDon  it  as 
a  distant  and  trifling  matter  in  which  it  has  no  direct  re- 
sponsibility— a  question  among  the  servants  in  the  kitchen, 
beneath  the  notice  of  the  drawing-room.  It  has  no  mo- 
tive to  come  out  of  the  ignorance  and  misrepresentation 


PEN,     PENCIL     AND     POWDEK.  453 

in  whicli  it  rests,  and  can  say  to  its  subordinates,  "  Do  as 
you  please,  it  matters  nothing  to  us."  Our  minister  to  China 
is  a  minister  to  the  viceroy  of  Canton. 

In  the  course  of  some  general  conversation  after  the 
interview  had  closed.  Admiral  Seymour  said  he  would  be 
glad  to  let  us  have  the  services  of  an  experienced  engi- 
neer officer  to  aid  in  mining  the  forts  in  case  we  should 
determine  to  blow  them  up ;  and  also  the  use  of  one  of 
his  steamers.  I  am  not  sure  that  he  made  these  offers 
then  to  Commodore  Armstrong,  but  he  stated  his  readi- 
ness in  general  conversation.  However  .  desirable,  of 
coui'se  their  acceptance  was  out  of  the  question. 

During  our  visit  to  Canton  we  learned  that  five  thou- 
sand "  braves"  were  said  to  be  assembled  near  the  facto- 
ries, immediately  inside  the  walls. 

At  noon  we  started  on  our  return  to  the  ship.  The 
firing  at  the  forts  had  ceased  for  some  time,  but  an  occa- 
sional explosion  showed  that  the  work  of  demolition  was 
going  on.  We  found  no  more  recent  intelligence  upon 
our  reaching  the  ship,  but  sometime  after,  a  hurried  note 
was  received,  calling  for  more  ammunition,  and  saying  that 
four  bodies  would  be  sent  to  us  for  burial. 

At  daylight,  on  the  morning  of  the  22d,  I  received  the 
following  note  from  the  Surgeon  of  the  Levant : 

United  States  Ship  Levant, 
November  21st,  1856. 

My  Dear  Doctoe, — 

We  have  had  a  very  hot  day's  work.  The  Kura  Fa  took 
us  into  capital  position,  and  in  about  an  hour  the  fort  on 
the  left  slacked  firing,  and  just  after  eight  the  boats  shoved 
off  in  tow  of  the  little  steamer,  and  occupied  the  fort. 
Two  men  were  killed  and  one  was  wounded  by  a  single 
cannon  ball,  while  in  the  boats.  The  Levant  was  struck 
and  shaken  by  large  shot,  a  good  many  times,  but  fortu- 


454  IN     CHINA. 

nately  no  one  was  hurt.  One  gun  was  struck  and  dis- 
•nbled.  The  Round  fort  is  occu|)ied  by  us,  and  the  only 
remaining  one  is  so  completely  commanded  that  it  must 
fall,  though  it  is  now  keepmg  up  an  ineffectual  fire  at  long 
range,  which  we  do  not  answer. 

I  send  by  the  comprador,  who  has  to-day  \Tlsited  us, 
my  papers,  etc.,  which  I  believe  are  all  right. 

In  haste,  J.  H.  Wkight. 

De.  Wood,  Fleet  Surgeon. 

At  eleven  o'clock  the  Kum  Fa  came  down,  bringing 
Captain  Foote  and  five  bodies.  Three  of  them  had  been 
killed  by  a  round  shot  striking  the  San  Jacinto's  launch, 
in  charge  of  Lieutenant  Lewis.  It  is  somewhat  singular, 
that  every  man  killed  by  the  enemy  belonged  to  the  San 
Jacinto,  which  ship  was  not  engaged.  Ca^^taiu  Foote  re- 
ported all  the  forts  in  our  possession,  mounting  one  hundred 
and  seventy-six  guns — one  of  them  a  monster  brass  piece: 

Extreme  length, 22  feet  5  inches. 

Greatest  circumference, 8    "     8      " 

Least  do  4  "    5|    " 

Circumference  of  trunnion, 3  "     3^    " 

Diameter  of  bore, "     8^    " 

Probable  weight,  say  about  fifteen  tons. 

The  gun  was  burst  in  the  following  ingenious  manner  :* 
Ten  one  and  one-eighth  inch  holes  were  drilled  in  a  line 
about  half  way  round,  some  ten  inches  forward  of  the 
vent;  after  which  the  piece  was  loaded  with  twenty-five 
pounds  of  fine  powder,  on  which  was  rammed  a  wet  wad, 
then  a  large  baE,  and  afterward  clay  and  sand  up  to  the 
muzzle.  The  gun  was  exploded  by  means  of  a  slow  match, 
and  bm'st  thoroughly,  the  fissures  extending  nearly  the 
whole  length.    The  time  occupied  for  this  labor  was  a  day 

*  By  Assistant  Engineer  C.  Victor. 


PEN,      PENCIL     AND     POWDER.  455 

and  three  quarters ;  and  by  its  destruction  gave  general 
satisfaction. 

Among  the  weapons  used  by  the  Chinese  most  effect- 
ively against  ns  in  this  contest  was  one  which  probably 
represents  the  "fiery  darts"  of  the  Bible,  and,  if  so,  es- 
tabUshes  that  early  knowledge  of  gunjiowder.  It  is  a 
heavy,  metal  rocket,  with  a  sharp  dart  or  spear-pointed 
head,  and  a  feathered  bamboo  shaft  six  or  eight  feet  long. 
One  of  these  passed  through  the  leg  of  a  marine,  carry- 
ing straw  and  dirt  with  it  as  though  in  its  course  it  had 
passed  over  a  paddy  field,  and  struck  the  ground.  It 
shattered  one  of  the  bones  of  his  leg,  and  the  man  subse- 
quently died  of  the  effects  of  the  wound  in  the  hospital 
under  my  charge.  Indeed,  my  unpleasant  relations  with 
this  contest  were  carried  over  more  than  a  year's  charge 
of  men  in  hospital  wounded  in  the  fight. 

One  of  our  great  difliculties  was  to  get  some  one  ac- 
quainted with  the  intricacies  of  the  channel  to  pilot  the 
Kum  Fa  while  towing  the  boats  to  the  assault  of  the 
forts — a  most  exposed  and  dangerous  duty  for  all  in  this 
egg-sheU  of  a  little  steamer.  It  was,  however,  under- 
taken by  W.  M.  Robiuet,  Esq.,  a  naturalized  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  and  a  merchant  of  Hong  Kong.  The 
ready  abandonment  of  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  his 
hospitable  mansion  in  Hong  Kong  for  the  exposure  of 
this  dangerous  duty  in  the  service  of  his  adopted  country, 
has,  I  believe,  received  no  oflicial  recognition  by  the  gov- 
ernment, although  its  attention  was  oflicially  called  to  the 
fact.  Mr.  Kobinet  also  landed  with  the  assaulting  parties 
where  his  better  knowledge  of  the  ground  enabled  him 
to  facilitate  their  movements.  His  gallantry  and  skill  upon 
these  trying  occasions,  cause  all  who  were  witness  of  them 
to  regret  the  misfortunes  which  have  subsequently  been  as- 
sociated with  his  name.  The  services  he  then  rendered 
can  not  be  denied,  even  if  he  has  since  fallen  into  error 


45G  IN     CHINA, 


XXXV. 


RUINED      CASTLES. 

The  final  attack  on  the  four  Barrier  forts  commenced 
on  Thursday  morning,  November  20th,  the  guns  sahiting 
the  gray  dawn,  and  by  Saturday,  the  2 2d,  although  the 
Chinese  had  fought  fort  after  fort,  they  were  in  our  pos- 
session. 

Those  who  have  followed  this  narrative  have  seen  there 
was  no  intermission,  and  no  rest,  day  or  night,  until  the 
capture  was  accomplished.  The  efiicient  coolness  which 
characterized  the  most  fiery  hours  of  the  combat,  has  al- 
ready been  commented  uj)on. 

Men  and  ofiicers  worked  with  the  eai'nest  enthusiasm 
of  those  doing  their  duty,  to  many  a  painful  duty,  with 
a  wish  to  perform  it  efficiently,  but  with  none  of  the  AvUd 
excitement  of  deeds  to  be  gloried  in ;  and  there  Avas  no 
exultation  of  success  claiming  commendations  for  what  had 
been  accomplished,  or  expectancy  of  the  reward  of  popu- 
lar approbation.  In  fact,  I  do  remember,  that  when  some 
young  and  hopeful  hero  suggested  that  the  events  might 
do  the  service  good,  by  showing  the  country  that  the 
Navy  had  not  lost  its  efficiency,  he  was  met  by  the  gen- 
eral sentiment,  that  when  the  events  reached  our  distant 
homes,  they  would  tall  fiat  upon  the  public  attention,  and 
scarce  attract  a  day's  notice.  They  did.  I  do  not  think 
a  single  letter  was  written  by  any  officer  of  the  squadron 
to  vaunt  its  achievements  and  attract  popular  admiration. 
None  of  the  quacking  arts  by  which  reputations  are  made, 
not  won,  were  resorted  to ;  but  the  duty  done,  the  forts 
taken,  the  honor  of  the  American  flag  and  name  vindi- 
cated, the  dead  buried  on  the  hill-side  at  Whampoa,  and 
the  whole  reported  to  the  Department,  the  matter  ended. 


RUINED     CASTLES.  457 

Those  who  had  not  been  killed  might  be  thankful  for 
their  escape,  but  certainly  had  no  temptations  to  desire  a 
different  result,  or  any  compensation  to  hope  for  beyond 
the  consciousness  of  dying  "in  the  love  of  duty."  When 
those  trained  in  a  life  of  military  aspiration  had,  with  a 
philosophical  appreciation  of  the  real  worth  of  military 
deeds,  reconciled  themselves  to  this  chilling  indifference, 
it  might  have  been  hoped  that  a  fair  human  nature,  ad- 
mitting the  general  depravity  of  the  article,  would  not 
have  gone  out  of  its  way  to  depreciate  the  extent  of  the 
performance  and  the  merit  of  those  engaged  in  it. 

But  as  such  envy,  malice  and  uncharitableness  were 
found  among  Americans,  it  becomes  my  right  to  assert 
the  true  claims  of  the  duty  done.  It  is  consolatory  that 
our  English  rivals  were  emphatic  in  their  commendation 
of  the  deed  itself,  and  the  manner  of  its  performance.  As 
the  Portsmouth  descended  the  river,  after  all  was  over,  the 
British  fleet  manned  their  rigging,  and  saluted  her  with 
hearty  cheers ;  and  the  officers  engaged  Avere  congratula- 
ted by  those  of  the  English  service  for  the  honorable  tes- 
timonials they  would  necessarily  receive  from,  the  United 
States  government,  and  could  not  understand  why  noth- 
ing was  exiDCcted. 

Those  who,  upon  the  spot,  undertook  to  insinuate  opin- 
ions of  depreciation,  did  not  underrate  the  unexpected 
strength  of  the  fortresses,  nor  in  any  one  instance  dare 
they  intimate  a  want  of  skill  and  courage  among  the 
assailants.  The  false  impression  is  conveyed  in  a  few 
words  of  truth.  "Yes,  they  did  take  the  forts,  but  were 
a  long  time  about  it ;  they  were  three  days  in  doing  what 
the  Englisli  did  in  a  few  hours."    . 

All  true.  All  false.  The  English  have  a  business  m- 
terest  in  making  the  most  of  every  successful  achieve- 
ment, and  will  press  its  importance  upon  their  authori- 
ties as  an  honorable  ware  whicii  has  a  value  of  specific 

20 


458  IN     CHINA. 

compensation.  Their  true  courage,  which  exaggerates  no 
dangers,  will  often  laugh  at  the  business  language  in 
which  their  deeds  are  reported.  Tlie  government,  or  its 
military  policy,  would  rather  err  by  the  exaggerated  ac- 
knowledgment of  a  small  achievement,  than  by  overlook- 
ing one  which  should  be  acknowledged.  Promotion 
attends  not  seniority,  but  skill  and  success.  "  He  was 
made  for  so  and  so,"  is  the  expression,  setting  forth  the 
cause  of  an  officer's  jDromotion. 

Notwithstanding  this  official  temptation  to  make  the 
fullest  claim  for  every  deed,  warranting  such  a  claim, 
there  was  too  much  English  honesty  and  English  pride 
to  make  any  merit  of  their  capture  of  the  Barrier  forts. 
Because  these  forts  were  taken  at  the  very  commence- 
ment of  the  troubles,  when  the  Chinese  were  exi:)ecting 
no  attack,  and  were,  consequently,  defenseless ;  the  small 
garrison  abandoning  them  'udthout  resistance. 

When  attacked  by  the  United  States  naval  forces, 
these  forts  had  been  actively  preparing  themselves  for 
war  with  us  all,  mounting  heavy  guns,  and  increasing 
their  forces  to  the  utmost  extent  inside  and  out.  The 
contemptuous  insinuation,  while  loaded  heavily  with  the 
meanness  of  its  purpose,  breaks  its  back  by  carrying  the 
refutation  of  that  purpose.  If  the  forts  were  a  long  time 
in  being  taken  by  the  United  States  forces,  as  there  is  no 
charge  that  there  was  any  shrinking  from  duty,  and  as 
there  was  no  cessation  of  the  attack  from  its  recommence- 
ment on  the  20th  of  Xovember,  until  the  final  success,  the 
longer  the  time,  the  greater  the  proof  that  it  was  an  un- 
dertaking of  real  difficulty,  and  no  child's  play. 

Making  no  reference  whatever  to  the  reports  of  those 
engaged  in  the  work,  I  will  refute  the  whole  imputation 
l)y  the  reports  of  the  English  themselves ;  and  we  can 
but  respect  them  for  that  justice  which  some  of  our  own 
countrymen  have  denied. 


KUINED     CASTLES.  469 

Extracts  from  Admiral  Seymour's  report  to  the  Ad- 
miralty, dated  on  board  the  Niger,  at  Canton,  November 
29th,  1856.     Blue  Book: 

"  Since  our  operations  against  the  Barrier  forts  on  the 
23d  ult.,  they  have  been  rearmed,  and  were  at  this  period 
garrisoned  by  a  strong  force,  with  troops  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. The  corvette*  commenced  firing  at  four  p.  ir.,  and 
continued  until  seven  o'clock,  the  Chinese  returning  it 
with  spirit.  On  the  following  morning  the  whole  of  the 
American  force  was  withdrawn  from  the  factory  to  man 
the  ships. 

"  At  seven,  a.  m,,  on  the  20th,  the  American  ships  re- 
opened a  very  heavy  fire  on  the  forts,  as  the  Chinese  had 
commenced  the  construction  of  batteries  in  their  rear, 
which  was  continued  during  the  whole  of  that  day,  and 
at  intervals  during  the  next  two  days.  On  the  evening 
of  the  22d,  Commander  Foote  called  on  me  to  report  the 
capture  of  the  four  forts,  and  the  partial  destruction  of 
the  works,  the  guns  also  having  been  burst  and  their 
carriages  burned.  During  these  protracted  and  arduous 
services,  the  American  officers  and  men  displayed  their 
accustomed  gallantry  and  energy.  Their  loss  amounted 
to  five  killed  and  six  wounded.  That  of  the  Chinese,  I 
am  given  to  understand,  was  very  heavy,  as  they  made 
a  most  determined  defense." 

From  the  same,  December  14,  185G  : 

"  The  American  ships-of-war  completed  the  destruction 
of  the  Barrier  forts  on  the  6th,  and  dropped  down  to 
Whampoa.  These  forts  were  of  enormous  strength  and 
solidity,  being  entirely  built  of  large  blocks  of  granite, 
with  walls  nine  or  ten  feet  thick.  They  were  heavily 
armed,  many  of  the  guns  being  of  seven  or  eight  tons 
weight,  with  a  bore  of  thirteen  inches ;  one  brass  cight- 
and-a-half  inch  gun  was  over  twenty-one  feet  long." 
*  Portsmouth,  Captain  Foote. 


460  IN     C  U  I  N  A  . 

With  such  testimony,  all  disparaging  insinuations  may 
be  left  alongside  the  unworthy  motive  in  which  they  orig- 
inated. 

Wo  now  had  the  forts,  but  theii*  ijossession  was  very 
like  that  of  the  undisposable  elephant.  What  was  to  be 
done  with  them  ? 

To  turn  them  over  to  the  English  would  put  us  iu  the 
position  of  having  captured  them  in  the  English  interest. 
If  we  abandoned  them  as  they  were,  so  long  as  only  the 
bare  walls  were  left  standing,  the  whole  eifect  of  the  cap- 
ture upon  the  Chinese  government  would  be  lost ;  not 
only  so,  but  an  impression  directly  the  reverse  of  the 
truth  be  produced.  The  instant  we  left  the  spot,  the 
Chinese  masses  would  rush  in  and  occujjy  the  works, 
hoist  their  dragon  banners,  and  report  to  the  imj^erial 
court  at  Pekin  that,  by  their  courage  and  skill,  they  had 
expelled  us,  thereby  increasing  the  arrogance  of  the  im- 
perial court,  its  contempt  for  us,  and  adding  to  the  difficul- 
ties of  future  negotiation.  Indeed,  in  one  of  the  forts  a 
flag  was  found,  bearing  this  inscription  : 

"  THIS  FORT  ATTACKED,  BUT  NOT  TAKEN." 

The  folloT\'ing  extract  from  a  letter  of  Assistant  Sur- 
geon Daniel,  received  by  me  on  the  day  follomng  the 
final  capture,  shows  what  would  have  been  the  result,  had 
the  forts  been  left  standing  : 

ct  *  *  %  Xone  of  the  commanders  are  here.  The 
Chinese  appear  to  be  occuppng  one  or  two  of  the  forts 
again,  and  Mr.  Lewis  has  gone  up  with  some  of  the 
launches  and  marines.  No  order  was  left  for  him  to  do 
so,  but  he  was,  most  assuredly,  right,  for  in  twenty-four 
hours  the  rascals  will  get  some  of  the  guns  to  bear,  and  the 
consequence  wiU  be  more  loss  of  life.  For,  if  we  are  to 
destroy  the  forts,  they  must  be  held  until  it  is  done. 


RUINED    CASTLES.  461 

We  have  lost  enough,  and  too  many,  of  our  people  al- 
I'eady." 

The  destruction  of  the  forts  seemed  the  only  safe  course, 
but  it  was  a  tremendous  labor,  and  veiy  distasteful  to 
officers  and  men,  now  worn  out  with  the  constant  occu- 
pation of  the  capture.  But  this  course  was,  after  some 
delay  and  discussion,  determined  on,  and  a  corps  of  la- 
borers, with  necessary  implements,  were  hired  from  the 
throng  of  unemployed  merchant  seamen,  now  crowding 
the  streets  of  Hong  Kong. 

While  this  discussion  was  going  on,  the  following  tempt- 
ing proposition  was  received  from  Admiral  Seymour  : 

COPT. 

Her  Majesty's  Ship  Niger, 

Canton,  Mvemher  24,  1856. 
My  Dear  Commodore  : 

If  you  are  disposed  to  hold  possession  of  one  of  the 
Barrier  forts — say  that  on  Kuper  Island — I  will,  on  learn- 
ing your  wishes,  act  against  the  French  Folly  fort.  This 
combined  movement  will  give  us  the  command  of  the 
Whampoa  channel.  We  should  then  be  in  possession  of 
the  two  river  communications  between  the  city  of  Canton 
and  the  sea,  a  circumstance  well  calculated  to  make  a 
deep  impression  on  the  Canton  authorities. 
I  am,  my  dear  sir, 

Faithfully  yours, 
{SignecT)  M.  SETiiouR, 

Roar  Admiral  and  Commander-in-Chief. 

His  Excellency  CoiiMODORE  Armstrong, 

Commander-in-Chief  of  the  United  States  Naval 
Forces. 

To  which  proposition  Commodore  Armstrong  felt  it 
his  duty  to  reply  as  follows : 


4G2  IN    CHINA. 

TJnited  States  Flag-Ship  San  Jaoikto, 
"Whampoa,  November  24,  1856. 

My  Dear  Admiral  : 

I  regret  that  I  can  not  enter  into  the  arrangement 
you  propose,  because  the  moment  I  receive  a  satisfactory 
communication  from  the  imperial  commissioner,  my  busi- 
ness with  him  is  at  an  end,  and  I  must  necessarily  return 
to  the  pacific  relations  the  United  States  held  before  the 
insult  to  its  flag.  But,  until  the  communication  does 
come,  I  shall  hold  the  forts  and  go  on  with  their  demoli- 
tion. 

I  remain,  my  dear  sir, 

Most  truly  yours, 
{Signed)  Jas.  Armstrong, 

Commanderjin-Chief  of  the  United  States 
Naval  Forces  in  the  East  India  and  China  Seas. 

His  Excellency,  Rear  Admiral 
Sir  Michael  Seymour,  K.  C.  B,, 

Commander-in-Chief  of  her  Majesty's  Naval 
Forces,  China, 

The  demolition  of  the  forts  became  also  very  conve- 
nient upon  another  policy.  The  Imperial  Commissioner, 
Yeh,  had  evidently  determined  upon  an  indefinitely  pro- 
tracted controversy,  unless  it  were  carried  on  with  the 
strong  hand  upon  his  throat. 

So  far  we  had  received  from  him  no  regret  or  disavow- 
al of  the  past  aggression,  and  no  security  against  its  rep- 
etition. If  he  continued  in  this  spirit,  we  must  in  all  con- 
sistency follow  up  our  demand  in  such  a  manner  as  would 
initiate  new  and  more  permanent  war  measures.  But 
while  we  were  day  by  day  tumbling  his  costly  castles  in- 
to ruins,  he  had  motives  to  come  more  speedly  to  juster 
views. 

Such  are  the  difiiculties  of  the  Chinese  language,  that 


RUIXED     CASTLES.  463 

even  learned  foreigners  do  not  enter  upon  the  translation 
of  an  important  document  without  the  aid  of  native  lin- 
guists and  teachers.  All  these  had  been  ordered  by  Yeh 
to  leave  the  factories,  and  any  aid  they  might  give  would 
be  at  the  risk  of  decapitation.  Commodore  Armstrong's 
letter  was,  therefore,  sent  Yeh  in  English.  He  retui-ned 
it.  It  was  again  sent  by  Dr.  Wells  WilHams,  the  Secre- 
tary of  Legation,  accompanied  by  the  81st  article  of  the 
treaty,  which  gives  us  the  right  of  communicating  in  our 
own  language. 

But  this  had  no  influence  upon  the  imperial  commis- 
sioner. He  seemed  rather  to  desire  in  this  way  to  rid 
himself  of  any  necessity  for  accounting  for  his  proceed- 
ings, by  cutting  off  all  medium  of  communication.  It 
was  shorter  than  continued  evasive  and  tortuous  docu- 
ments. 

Such  are  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  the  Chinese 
non-intercourse  policy;  showing  the  propriety  and  the 
necessity  of  the  demand  made  by  the  British  authorities, 
for  personal  negotiation.  Finally  a  translation  of  the  doc- 
ument was  sent  in,  and  five  days  afler  its  date  a  reply  was 
received.  This  only  repeats  his  first  letter,  and  says  that 
no  commerce  exists  now ;  that  the  French  and  Portuguese 
consuls  had  retired  from  Canton,  and  says,  "I  also  think 
that  your  Excellency  will  act  in  the  same  manner.  To 
maintain  amicable  relations  between  our  two  countries  in 
all  respects,  there  is  no  better  way  than  to  move  else- 
where. Henceforth,  lest  American  ships,  while  passing 
here  and  there  on  the  rivers,  during  this  time  of  hostili- 
ties, should  not  be  distinguished,  and  should  by  mistake 
be  fired  at  and  injured,  I  request  that  you  A\dll  order 
merchants  and  ships  for  the  time  to  cease  going  about." 
Commodore  Armstrong  reiterated  his  demand,  that  the 
treaty  rights  of  the  American  flag  and  of  American  cit- 


464  IN     CHINA. 

izens  should  bo  respected,  and  received,  in  due  time,  a 
reply,  the  nature  of  which  is  shown  by  the  following 
answer  to  it : 

Untted  States  Flag-Ship  San  Jacinto, 
"Whampoa,  November  29th,  1856. 
Sir: 

Your  Excellency's  communication  of  the  28th  inst. 
is  now,  7  o'clock,  p.  m.,  for  the  first  time  before  me,  and 
as  I  have  distinctly  and  repeatedly  informed  your  Excel- 
lency that  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  flag  and  cit- 
izens of  the  United  States  would  be  defended  by  me 
against  all  aggressions,  it  would  be  useless  to  consume 
the  time  of  your  Excellency  and  of  myself  in  repeating 
this  determination.  But  there  are  a  few  points  in  your 
Excellency's  letter  which  show  so  much  misapprehen- 
sion of  the  rights  of  friendly  nations,  and  the  duties  of 
one  to  another,  that  I  must  call  your  Excellency's  at- 
tention to  the  errors  undpr  which  your  Excellency  is 
laboring. 

In  the  first  place  you  demand  that  the  citizens  and  the 
flag  of  the  United  States  shall  retire  from  your  Excellen- 
cy's jurisdiction,  because  there  are  hostilities  existing  be- 
tween the  English  and  your  Excellency,  and  because  the 
French  and  Portuguese  have  done  so. 

The  United  States  has,  as  your  Excellency  must  know, 
by  treaty,  entered  into  friendly  relations  with  the  impe- 
rial government  of  China,  which  give  its  citizens  the  right 
to  a  residence,  to  trade  and  to  protection  in  certain  por- 
tions of  the  Chinese  empire,  one  of  which  happens  to  be 
under  your  Excellency's  government.  The  demand  of 
your  Excellency  is  in  violation  of  that  treaty,  and  will 
call  forth  the  surprise  and  indignation  of  my  government, 
and  can  not  be  acceded  to  by  any  of  its  officers. 

With  the  course  of  the  French  and  Portuguese,  the 
authorities  of  the  United  States   have   nothing  to  do. 


RUINED     CASTLES.  465 

These  authorities,  while  most  desirous  of  acting  accord- 
ing to  right  and  justice,  must  form  their  judgment  irre- 
spective of  that  of  other  nations,  and  under  the  present 
circumstances  they  only  claim  that  to  which  the  faith  of 
the  imperial  government  of  China  is  pledged,  and  which 
your  Excellency  can  not  refuse  without  taking  upon  your- 
self the  responsibility  of  violating  that  faith. 

Your  Excellency  further  says,  "  When  the  English 
opened  their  fire,  on  the  29th.  ult.,  upon  the  city,  men  of 
other  countries  scrambled  over  the  walls  with  them,  and 
when  they  attacked  the  French  Folly,  on  the  6th  inst., 
the  citizens  and  villagers  repeatedly  saw  all  that  was 
done,  and  reported  to  me  that  there  were  Americans 
mixed  up  among  their  forces.  Moreover,  I  am  told  that 
the  EngUsh  consul,  Parkes,  has  spread  abroad  the  report, 
that  the  Americans  have  encouraged  them  to  maintain 
their  parts  bravely  in  these  hostilities,  Wiien  these 
things  came  to  my  knowledge,  knowing  the  long  contin- 
ued good  feelings  that  your  country  had  shown  to  us  for 
so  many  years,  I  put  not  credence  in  them,  notwithstand- 
ing all  the  declarations  of  the  people,  but  in  consequence 
repeatedly  informed  Consul  Perry  that  he  might  enjoin  it 
on  his  countrymen  and  the  American  men-of-war,  to  move 
elsewhere,  and  thereby  to  take  away  all  cause  of  fear  and 
suspicion.  This  advice  was  certainly  given  with  friendly 
feelings,  and  he  ought  to  have  acted  in  accordance  there- 
with." For  what  "the  men  of  other  countries"  have 
done,  your  Excellency  must  know  the  United  States  are 
not  resfjonsible. 

In  all  the  correspondence  I  have  had  the  honor  to  hold 
with  your  Excellency,  this  is  the  first  communication  in 
which  your  Excellency  has  complained  of  tlie  interference 
of  Americans  in  your  difliculty  with  the  English,  and  even 
now,  you  make  that  complaint  upon  the  vague  reports  of 
"  citizens  and  villagers,"  whom  your  Excellency,  in  former 
20* 


4G6  IN     CHINA. 

communications,  stated  to  be  in  so  excited  a  condition 
they  could  not  distin squish  the  American  flag  from  the 
English.  Can  your  Excellency  consider  such  uncertain 
reports  as  these  a  sufficient  cause  to  make  war  upon  a 
friendly  power  ?  to  fire,  without  Avarning,  from  your 
forts  upon  a  small  boat,  which,  relying  upon  the  flxith  and 
honor  of  your  government,  was,  on  a  friendly  and  peace- 
ful errand,  passing  under  their  guns  ?  It  must  need  very 
little  reflection  to  convince  your  Excellency  that  any  re- 
ports spread  by  the  officer  of  another  government,  not 
under  my  control,  are  not  a  sufficient  cause  for  such  hos- 
tile proceedings,  even  though  the  reports  were  strictly 
true.  Americans  have  a  right  to  hold  and  to  exj^ress 
whatever  opinions  they  please  in  relation  to  their  own 
or  any  other  government,  and  so  long  as  they  refrain  from 
any  improper  action  upon  those  opinions,  they  are  not 
responsible  to  any  power.  It  may  be  supposed,  and  prob- 
ably is  the  case,  that  some  Americans  sympathize  with 
the  Cantonese,  but  this  would  not  be  claimed  by  the 
English  as  sufficient  reason  for  making  war  upon  the 
country  of  such  persons. 

If  any  citizens  of  the  United  States  were  so  indiscreet 
as  to  engage  in  the  hostilities  between  your  Excellency 
and  the  English,  it  would  certainly  be  a  just  subject  of 
complaint  on  the  part  of  your  Excellency  to  the  United 
States  authorities  to  which  these  citizens  are  responsible, 
and  your  Excellency  might  have  every  confidence,  as  you 
have  the  evidence,  that  such  a  course  on  the  part  of 
American  citizens  would  have  been  reproved  and' put  an 
end  to. 

The  following  extract  from  the  circular  issued  by  the 
senior  naval  commanding  officer  in  my  absence,  is  proof 
that  you  can  have  no  complaint  against  the  government 
whose  flag  you  have  assaulted  : 

"  The  United  States  naval  forces  are  here  for  the  special 


KUINED     CASTLES.  467 

protection  of  American  interests  ;  and  the  display  of  the 
American  flag  in  any  other  connection  is  hereby  for- 
bidden. 

{Signed)  "  Aistjeew  H.  Foote, 

"  Commander  United  States  Navy, 
"  Senior  Officer  present,  commanding  United  States  Naval  Forces,  Canton. 

"Canton,  China,   Odoler  29th,  1856. 

With  SO  clear  and  proper  means  of  redress  before 
you,  neither  his  Excellency,  the  Commissioner  of  the 
United  States  to  China,  nor  myself,  received  any  inti- 
mation from  your  Excellency  of  any  cause  of  complaints, 
until  after  you  had  fired  upon  the  boat  of  my  squadron, 
and  thus  made  war  upon  a  power  at  peace  with  your  gov- 
ernment. 

From  the  nature  of  your  Excellency's  communication, 
I  am  reluctantly  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  assault  up- 
on the  flag  of  the  United  States  was  by  your  Excellency's 
authority.  I  have  shown  that  the  complaints  under  which 
your  Excellency  endeavors  to  excuse  that  injury  are  too 
vague  and  undefined  to  justify  any  hostility ;  that,  even 
if  true  to  the  fullest  extent,  your  Excellency's  course  wag" 
a  reference  to  the  representative  of  the  United  States  in 
China.  It  is  plain  that  your  demand  to  retire  the  United 
States  flag  from  the  country  under  your  jurisdiction,  is  a 
violation  of  the  treaty  obligations  of  the  imperial  govern- 
ment of  China,  which  can  not  be  acceded  to. 

If  your  Excellency,  upon  considering  the  subject,  shall 
see  the  impropriety  of  this  demand,  and  shall  give  orders 
that  in  future  the  flag  of  the  United  States  shall  be  treated 
with  respect  and  friendship,  the  present  difliculty  will  be 
at  an  end,  and  from  the  friendly  feelings  you  express,  and 
which  I  both  feel  and  will  act  upon  when  all  provocation 
is  removed,  there  ought  to  be  no  obstacles  to  this  happy 
result. 

Unless  your  Excellency  sees  the  justice  ot  the  views  i 


468  IN    CHINA, 

have  endeavored  to  set  forth,  and  acts  accordJbgly,  with 
your  Excellency  must  rest  the  responsibiUty  for  all  the  evils 
attending  the  difficulties  you  are  creating  between  the  gov- 
ernments of  the  United  States  and  of  the  Chinese  empire. 
Retm-ning  your  Excellency's  expressions  of  good  will, 
I  am,  very  respectfully,  etc.,  etc.,  etc., 
{Signed)  Jas.  Armstrong, 

Commander-in-Chief  of  the  United  States  Naval  Forces 
in  the  East  India  and  China  Seas. 

His  Excellency  Yeh, 

Imperial  CommisBioner,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.,  Canton. 

True  copy.  A.  Van  Den  Hefvel, 

Commodore's  Secretary. 

This  communication  was  answered  by  another,  in  which 
the  imperial  commissioner  concludes  as  follows : 

"  You  remark  in  the  present  letter,  '  your  Excellency 
must  certainly  know  on  reflection,  that  the  United  States 
has  no  concern  with  the  acts  of  other  nations  ;'  and  fur- 
ther you  say,  '  if  you  see  that  it  is  contrary  to  the  rights 
of  friendly  nations  for  the  Americans  to  withdraw,  if  you 
will  issue  orders  to  all  your  officers  hencefoi'th  to  treat 
them  with  respect  and  friendliness,  the  present  difficulties 
will  be  at  an  end.'  From  this  I  see  fully  that  your  Excel- 
lency has  a  clear  knowledge  of  affairs.  There  is  no  mat- 
ter of  strife  between  our  two  nations.  Henceforth  let  the 
fashion  of  flag  which  American  shijDS  employ  be  clearly 
defined  (or  made  known),  and  inform  me  what  it  is  before- 
hand. This  will  be  a  verification  (or  proof)  of  the  friendly 
relations  between  our  countries.  For  this  reply,  availing 
of  the  opportunity  to  hope  that  peace  may  be  yours." 

Simultaneously  with  the  receipt  of  this  satisfactory  let- 
ter, the  last  granite  wall  of  the  forts  was  blown  into  ruins, 
and  peace  restored. 

The  Levant  was  ordered  to  lie  ofl"  Canton  for  the  refuge 
of  such  of  our  citizens  as  chose  to  remain  at  the  factories. 


THE     REIGN     OF     TEEEOR.  469 

She  had  only  been  there  two  days  when,  from  Whampoa, 
we  saw  the  evidence  of  a  large  conflagration  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  city.  The  Chinese  had  burnt  all  the  factories, 
and  expelled  the  barbarian  from  the  little  foothold  he  had 
so  long  held.  Our  interests  there  were  at  an  end  for  the 
present,  and  the  Levant  was  recalled. 


XXXVI. 

THK    REIQN    OF    TERROR. 

"  Every  person  lawfully  acting  as  a  sentry  or  patrol  at  any  time  be- 
tween the  hour  of  eight  in  the  evening  and  sunrise,  is  hereby  authorized, 
whilst  so  acting,  to  fire  upon,  with  intent  or  effect  to  kUl,  any  Chinaman 
whom  he  shall  meet  with  or  discover  abroad,  and  whom  he  shall  have 
reasonable  ground  to  suspect  of  being  so  abroad  for  an  improper  pur- 
pose, and  who  being  challenged  by  him  shall  neglect  or  refuse  to  make 
proper  answer  to  his  challenge. 

"  If  any  Chinaman,  not  being  the  holder  of  a  night  pass,  shall  carry 
abroad  with  him,  whether  night  or  day,  any  deadly  weapon  whatsoever, 
he  shall  be  guUty  of  a  misdemeanor. 

"No  act  done  or  attempted  in  pursuance  of  this  ordinance  shall  be 
questioned  in  any  court." 

Our  own  immediate  war  might  be  supposed  to  be  over, 
but  we  could  not  pass  to  the  rejoicings  of  peace.  Heads 
wei*e  still  worth  money,  and  the  lawless  Chinese  population 
about  us  knew  nothing  of  treaties  and  paper  obligations. 

Besides,  the  English  war  was  still  in  progress,  and  a 
fleet  of  rebels,  or  pirates  calling  themselves  rebels,  lay 
anchored  in  the  river  near  Whampoa,  ready  to  pounce 
upon  any  prey  which  passed  them  ;  and  in  the  meantime 
they  amused  themselves  by  robbing  and  burning  the 
neighboring  villages,  the  smoke  rising  to  our  sight  over 
the  hill  tops. 

We  lay  still  and  stagnant  amid  the  river  "  chop.s,"  or 
floating  shops  and  residences  of  Whampoa,  but  neverthe- 


470  IN     CUIN  A. 

less,  smTounded  by  war's  alarms.  Commerce  was  dead, 
except  that  a  few  small  craft,  buzzards  on  the  battle-field, 
were  carrying  on  some  surreptitious  traffic  with  dishonest 
mandarins — Yankee  and  Chinaman  alike  out  of  the  pale 
of  God  and  man. 

There  was  one  valuable  American  interest  on  shore — a 
fine  stone  dry-dock,  belonging  to  the  house  of  Hunt  & 
Co.,  Avhich  was  worth  our  protection,  but  it  seemed,  in 
the  present  state  of  afiairs,  to  be  a  necessary  convenience 
to  the  English,  and  the  British  frigate  Sybille,  lay  off  the 
dock. 

The  Chinese  were  very  bold  in  their  attempts  at  injury. 
Near  us  lay  the  chop  of  an  Englishman  by  the  name  of 
Cooper.  On  the  evening  of  December  20th,  a  boat  of 
Chinese  ran  alongside  of  it,  under  the  pretense  of  deliver- 
ing a  letter,  seized  Mr,  Cooper's  father  from  the  midst 
of  his  family,  and  hurried  him  off  in  their  boat.  Nothing 
satisfactory  was  ever  again  heard  of  him.  He  was  either 
decapitated  and  his  head  sold,  or  died  a  prisoner  in  Can- 
ton. The  British  arrested  some  of  the  principal  men  of 
the  village,  and  threatened  to  burn  the  place  unless  the 
old  man  were  returned,  but  no  knowledge  of  the  transac- 
tion could  be  fixed  U230n  them. 

How  much  of  the  trouble  of  the  world  arises  from  men 
and  people  misunderstanding  each  other !  The  Chinese 
view  of  their  civilized  and  Christian  enemies  may  be 
learned  from  the  following 

Public  Declaration  of  the  Gentry  and  People  of  the  City 
and  Samlets  of  Canton. 

Until  the  parricide*  be  cut  off,  there  will  be  no  peace 
in  (men's)  dwellings.     When  blood-thirstiness  and  vicious 

*  The  word  is  compounded  of  the  name  of  a  bird  that  devours  its 
mother,  and  a  beast  that  eats  its  father ;  and  is  used  here  to  signify, 
par  excellence,  an  atrocious  monstrosity. 


THE     REIGN     OF     TERROR.  471 

* 

perversity  rebel  with  violence,  (against  the  rule  of  right) 
a  virtuous  indignation  should  be  manifested  by  all  in 
common. 

The  English  barbarians  having  commenced  a  quarrel 
without  a  cause,  imputing  to  us  their  own  offense  against 
what  is  proper  (or  decorous),  have  destroyed  our  forts, 
have  assaulted  our  city,  have  burned  the  lowly  dwellings 
of  the  people,  have  sacked  their  villages  ;  merchant*  ves- 
sels and  passage  boats  have  been  plundered  ;  the  wayfarer 
and  the  traveling  merchant  have  been  assassinated.f  At 
the  village  of  Lieh-teh  (by  the  Barrier  forts),  three  wo- 
men were  ravished, J  and  for  shame  have  destroyed  them- 
selves. Such  is  their  brigand  soul,  such  their  wolfish  na- 
ture ;  wo  be  to  the  city  of  Canton,  if  they  be  suffered  to 
dwell  there  long ! 

It  behoves  us  to  raise  a  force  of  sons  and  brothers,§  to 
exterminate  them,  ere  we  eat  our  morning  meal ;  to  gather 
together  the  population  of  the  villages  and  the  city,  and 
sweep  away  this  fiendish  pestilence.  It  is  now  deter- 
mined that,  on  a  day  to  be  appointed,  there  shall  be  a 
meeting  at  Fat-ling  Shi  (north-east  of  the  city),  for  pur- 
poses of  general  deliberation.  Every  inhabitant  of  the 
villages  near  the  city,  from  sixteen  years  of  age  to  sixty, 
shall  take  his  place  in  the  ranks  ;  a  rate  shall  be  levied  on 
lands  for  their  subsistence ;  the  more  remote  districts 
shall  aid  to  swell  the  cry.     These  barbarians  must  be  ex- 

*  Lit.  Silk  vessels. 

■{■  navo  suddenly  suffered  wounds  and  death. 

X  There  was  an  idle  rumor  that  some  women  were  violated  near  tlio 
Barrier  forts,  when  they  were  taken  by  the  Americans.  The  circum- 
stances of  that  capture  considered,  there  is  very  small  ground  indeed 
for  crediting  a  report  which  has  been  for  years  past  the  inseparable 
companion  of  every  narrative  of  barbarian  misdoings. 

§  The  proverb  says,  "  that  of  such  should  bo  formed  the  force  that 
hunts  the  tiger,  or  that  goes  to  battle." 


4Y2  IN    c n  I X  A  . 

# 
terminated,  and  the  port*  closed  to  them  ;  nor  must  they 
ever  again  be  allowed  to  trade  at  Canton,  that  men's 
hearts  may  be  satisfied,  and  the  calamities  of  after  time 
be  prevented. 

Even  were  the  high  authorities  resolved  to  be  gentle 
and  considerate,  and  in  this  spirit  mercifully  tolerant  of 
these  dogs  and  mice,  they  could  not  go  against  the  reso- 
lution of  the  rural  population,  hundreds  of  thousands  in 
number  ;  they  could  not  thrust  aside  the  common  feelings 
of  the  peoj^le.  Yet  there  has  been  of  late  a  rumor  to  this 
effect ;  while  these  barbarians  have  been  destroying  the 
Lien-hing  and  other  streets,  acts  which  it  was  as  much  to 
be  assumed  would  have  roused  the  virtuous  indignation 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  western  suburb,  as  it  was  not  to 
be  assumed  that  they  would  have  tacitly  assented  to  them, 
allowing  the  silk-worm  thus  to  eat  (its  way),  a  report  has 
been,  notwithstanding,  current  in  the  street  and  on  the 
highway,  which  goes  the  length  of  asserting  that  the  sub- 
stantial and  wealthy  merchants  of  the  western  suburb, 
who  have  so  many  years  traded  with  the  rebellious  bai*- 
barians,  some  because  they  have  business  establishments 
abroad,  some  because  they  have  shares  in  foreign  vessels, 
are  tenderly  regarding  their  personal  interests,  while  they 
ignore  the  sentiment  of  patriotism ;  that  they  have  some 
time  since  made  a  secret  compact  (with  the  barbarian) 
that  neither  j^arty  shall  molest  the  other ;  and  that  this 
is  the  reason  why  they  are  comj^osedly  looking  on,  as  if 
nothing  extraordinary  were  taking  place. 

A  tale  like  this,  told  in  public  places,f  were  doubtless 
not  to  be  greatly  trusted  ;  but  with  such  noise  and  fre- 
quency is  it  passing  from  man  to  man,  that  it  has,  indeed, 
astounded  those  who  hear  it ;  and  it  is  but  too  probable 
that  the  western  suburb  will,  in  the  end,  find  to  its  sor- 

*  lAt.  The  wharf  must  be  destroyed. 
f  Liit.  In  the  markets  and  by  the  wells. 


THE     REIGN     OF     TERROR.  473 

row  that  it  is  become  the  point  on  which  popular  indig- 
nation has  concentrated  itself. 

If  duly  mindful  of  their  duty  to  their  homes,  of  the 
abundant  bounty  in  which  they  have  been  steeped  by 
dynasty  after  dynasty,  they  wUl  pillow  them  on  their 
arms,  determined  and  united  with  us  in  our  patriotic 
movement ;  let  them,  sharing  with  us  our  animosity,  and 
treating  as  foes  those  whom  we  hate,  grasp,  one  and  all, 
the  ear  of  the  ox,*  and  join  our  confederacy.  —  China 
Mail^  December  18th,  1856. 

Perhaps  we  make  as  disparaging  errors  in  our  judgment 
of  the  Chinese. 

On  the  evening  of  December  23d,  I  retired  early,  with 
the  hope  and  prospect  of  a  quiet  night's  rest.  But  truly 
no  man  knows  what  an  hour  may  bring  forth,  especially 
at  a  time  .when  you  do  not  know  whether  you  are  at  war 
or  not,  and  if  at  war,  whether  it  may  be  Avith  a  regular 
government,  regular  rebels,  or  irregular  pirates. 

There  had  been  a  rumor  for  some  days  past  that  one 
heavy  fleet  of  armed  junks  was  to  descend  the  river,  and 
another  to  ascend,  and  between  them  both,  the  British 
frigate  and  ourselves  were  to  be  overwhelmed. 

Soon  after  lying  down,  the  repeated  concussion  of  heavy 
guns  shook  the  air  about  us.  But  almost  every  night 
there  has  been  some  heavy  firing  in  the  direction  of  Can- 
ton, and  a  small  business  is  going  on  day  and  night  in  our 
vicinity,  and,  though  these  heavy  guns  seemed  much 
nearer  than  Canton,  concluding  that  it  was  no  business  of 
mine,  I  went  to  sleep,  but  in  a  few  hours  was  waked  by  a 
terrible  confusion  on  deck,  with  the  noise  of  a  steamer 
near  by.     The  British  steamer  Queen,  on  lier  way  from 

*  In  the  timo  of  tho  Fighting  States — the  Confucian  era — when  a 
league  w;xs  to  bo  formed,  an  ox  was  sacrificed  to  Iloavfn,  and  his  car 
being  cut  ofT  by  the  senior  of  tho  confederacy,  tho  blood  from  it  was 
drunk  in  wine  by  tho  members  of  tho  alliance. 


474  IN     CU  I  N  A  . 

Canton  to  Hong  Kong,  about  seven  miles  below  us,  had 

encountered  a  fleet,  said  to  be  of  one  hundred  armed  junks, 
coming  up  the  river,  who  had  fired  upon  her,  and  driven 
her  back. 

This  midnight  intelligence  came  upon  our  ship  with 
startling  eftect,  and  the  noise  on  deck  was  that  of  tearing 
the  cabin  to  pieces,  and  running  a  gun  out  of  the  stern 
j)ort.  Presently  aU  hands  were  called — steam  was  got  up, 
with  a  general  dispersion  of  all  sleeping  facilities.  With 
the  better  information  of  the  next  day,  we  ascertained 
that  the  firing  had  been  of  a  serious  character.  The 
iron  steamer  Thistle  had  preceded  the  Queen  down  the 
river,  having  in  tow  a  lorcha  of  valuable  goods,  worth 
from  forty  to  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  first  encountered 
these  hostile  junks.  The  attack  was  a  very  vigorous  one, 
and  the  commander  of  the  Thistle,  a  Dane,  by  the  name 
of  Weslein,  behaved  in  a  most  gallant  manner.  He  took 
the  helm  himself  under  the  fire,  and  endeavored  to  run 
through  the  fleet  with  the  lorcha,  but  finding  he  could  not 
do  this,  he  bi'ought  her  alongside,  removed  every  one 
from  her,  and  cut  her  adrift,  and  passed  the  fleet  with  his 
steamer,  having  several  of  his  men  killed  by  the  fire  of 
the  Chinese.  It  was  in  contemplation  to  give  Captain 
Weslein  a  complimentary  testimonial  for  his  conduct  upon 
this  occasion,  but  before  this  was  done  a  more  unhappy 
day  came,  when  his  steamer  was  captured  and  burnt,  he, 
and  all  on  board,  being  massacred.  Armed  Chinese,  in 
disguise,  went  on  board  of  her  as  passengers,  and  at  a 
favorable  moment  rose  upon  the  ship's  company,  and  de- 
stroyed it. 

During  this  state  of  affairs  our  communication  with  the 
shore  is  very  much  cut  off,  but  it  lias  developed  a  curious 
feature  of  Chinese  character,  in  the  attachment  to  our  ship 
of  a  small  fleet  of  native  boats.  There  is  our  "  fast  boat,"  or 
general  can-iage  of  all  work,  for  ship  visiting  and  gadding 


THE     REIGN      OF     TERKOK.  475 

about  the  harbor  ;  one  or  two  bum-boats,  equivalent,  the 
reader  now  knows,  to  the  "  corner  grocery,"  without,  how- 
ever, the  liquor.  From  these  the  crew  buy  pies,  cakes, 
cooked  fish,  eggs  and  meats,  fruits,  and  fancy  articles. 
These  boats,  all  of  them,  hoist  small  American  flags  at  their 
mast-heads,  and  identify  themselves  with  our  nationality. 
They  are  a  great  convenience  to  us  in  many  ways,  and 
especially  in  the  laundry  department,  as  our  clothes  are 
washed  and  ironed  by  the  families  of  these  small  boats. 
All  of  them  are  tenanted  by  families,  and  old  Assing,  the 
pilot,  has  a  wife  and  five  children,  the  youngest  six 
months  old.  Mrs.  Assing  is  not  at  all  satisfied  with  the 
state  of  affairs,  and  is  very  anxious  that  we  should  all  get 
out  of  this  locality,  and  worries  the  old  man  a  good  deal 
about  it,  urging  him  to  leave  us,  if  we  will  not  go  into 
safer  regions.  When  making  neighborhood  trips  in  her 
boat,  the  old  lady  tells  me  piteously,  in  pigeon  English, 
of  the  "too  much  fear"  she  has  ;  and  upon  one  occasion 
Assing  asked  me  when  we  would  go  down  the  river,  as 
"  my  very  much  fear."  I  told  him  he  need  have  no  fear 
while  with  us,  as  we  could  protect  him. 

"  Byme-by,"  he  replied,  "  you  go  New  York  side — 
'Merrikey  side  ;  my  stay  China  side — mandarin  cutee  off 
my  head,  all  my  catchee,  now  forty-five  dollar  one  moons  ; 
no,  enough." 

Having  heard  that  criminals  condemned  to  death  will 
sometimes  buy  persons,  who  have  distressed  families,  to 
suffer  in  their  stead,  the  money  being  paid  their  families, 
it  occuri'ed  to  me  to  ascertain  Assing's  price  for  his  head, 
as  he  evidently  put  a  money-value  upon  it.  When  I 
asked  the  question  he  liesitated  some  moments,  and  then 
said  :  "  Pay  five  hundred  dollar  my  wife — my  children — 
can  take  Assing's  head,"  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  the 
article  could  have  been  had  on  the  terms. 

In  addition  to  our  regular  suite  of  boats,  we  have, 


476  IN     CHINA. 

almost  constantly,  just  under  tlie  quarter,  a  group  of  men- 
dicant boats — miserable  little  floating  troughs,  with  some 
wretched  looking  old  man,  old  Avoman,  or  little  child, 
who,  by  means  of  a  sculling  oar,  constantly  in  motion, 
keeps  in  a  position  to  pick  up  the  scraj^s  and  ojffal  of  the 
shijj ;  no  matter  what — potato-parings  or  orange-peel — it 
is  dexterously  gathered  up  by  a  small  hand  net. 

Among  these  dependants  is  an  intelligent,  but  distressed- 
looking,  child,  with  whom  I  have  got  up  such  a  friend- 
ship as  prisoners  do  with  the  mice  or  spiders  in  their  cell. 
He  solitarily  and  patiently  phes  his  oar  all  day.  One 
wonders,  in  looking  at  his  thin,  ribby  body,  where  the 
strength  comes  from.  In-  my  visits  of  relaxation  to  the 
poop-deck,  I  have  made  him  the  recipient  of  my  small 
charities,  sometimes  going  to  the  extravagance  of  pitching 
him  a  whole  shij^'s  biscuit  or  an  orange.  I  am  fully  paid 
by  seeing  his  eye  brighten  as  I  come,  and  to  hear  him  say, 
in  clear  English,  "  Thank  you."  No  other  word  has  ever 
passed  between  us. 

From  twelve  till  two  o'clock  we  have  much  entertain- 
ment in  an  animated  bazaar  on  board.  However  studi- 
ously or  churlishly  we  may  have  shut  ourselves  up  in 
our  rooms,  this  daily  trade  brings  us  out.  Venders  of 
lacquer  ware,  of  ivory,  sandal-wood  boxes,  shawls,  fans, 
camphor-wood  desks,  dressing  cases,  and  chests,  come  off 
at  this  time,  spread  out  their  wares  on  the  decks,  or  the 
tables  of  our  apartments,  and  get  up  quite  a  lively  scene 
in  the  competition  of  purchasing,  or  of  amusement  in  the 
various  applications  of  "  i^igeon  English." 

"  My  talkee  true — ^^Dropa  price — plum  cash  ;"  which 
last  expression  means  prime  cost. 

One  hard-faced,  grim  and  rascally  old  gentleman  none 
of  us  will  ever  forget,  as,  with  a  sing-song  voice,  he  con- 
stantly reminded  us  that  his  wares  were  "  number  one 
qualanty — good  ting  no  cheap — cheap  ting  no  good." 


THE     REIGN      OF     TEKKOK.  477 

Some  stupid,  starch-laced  Navy  officers  might  have 
thought  these  scenes  an  invasion  of  disciplinary  pro- 
priety, but  in  our  position  they  were  a  moral  good,  and 
medicine  for  the  mixed  anxiety  and  monotony  of  our 
existence. 

As  there  was  but  one  American  trading  house  at 
Whampoa — the  floating  one  of  Cook's  chop,  of  which  the 
resident  proprietor  was  the  United  States  Vice  Consul — 
and  as  our  relations  with  the  Chinese  were  nominally 
pacific,  there  did  not  seem  to  be  sufficient  reasons  for 
keeping  the  squadron  at  Whainpoa,  and  there  were  many 
requiring  our  presence  in  Hong  Kong,  where  an  immense 
amount  of  American  shipping  had  gathered,  and  where 
much  alarm  and  anxiety  existed.  Commodore  Arm- 
strong, therefore,  sent  notice  to  the  United  States  Vice 
Consul  that  he  intended  to  leave  that  place,  and  tendering 
any  facilities  of  convoy  to  those  who  did  not  feel  willing 
to  remain. 

Considering  our  friendly  relations,  and  the  understood 
disposition  of  some  of  the  Chinese  on  shore,  they  all  felt 
safe  in  remaining,  merely  requesting  that  the  little  steamer 
Kum  Fa,  Avhich  had  been  so  active  in  our  hostilities,  might 
be  taken  with  us.  Engineers  from  our  ship  Avore  put  on 
board  of  her  for  that  purpose,  and  on  Christmas  day  we 
got  under  way  to  descend  the  river.  It  was  a  most  beau- 
tiful day.  As  we  passed  the  Boca  Tigris,  the  Calcutta 
and  Nankin  were  lying  there.  The  extensive  forts,  with 
the  exception  of  two  on  the  islands  in  the  river,  were  in 
ruins.     These  two  were  occupied  by  the  English. 

Soon  after  passing  this  very  picturesque  point,  and  en- 
tering upon  an  expanse  in  the  river  which  spreads  away 
like  a  lake  between  its  distant  mountain  shores,  we  came 
upon  a  most  agreeable  surprise.  A  steamer  was  on  her 
way  up  from  Hong  Kong,  and  seeing  our  apjjroacli  she 
Stopped ;  a  boat  was  sent  her  and  we  received  our  home 


478  IN     CHINA. 

letters  by  the  last  overland  mail.  Getting  thetn  so  sud- 
denly, and  in  such  an  unexpected  place,  made  them  the 
greater  prize,  and  our  second  Christmas  from  home  quite 
a  home  festival. 

Arrived  in  Hong  Kong,  we  found  the  place  in  great 
anxiety ;  most  of  the  British  force  was  up  the  river.  There 
had  been  rumors  of  a  general  massacre  and  burning  of 
the  city  by  the  Chinese,  who,  e^'cn  in  that  English  to^vii, 
were  in  overwhelming  masses.  The  hundred-dollar  value 
for  foreign  heads  still  existed  ;  the  Thistle,  too,  had  been 
captured  and  burnt ;  and  the  opportunity  for  plundering 
the  city  alone  invited  to  conflagration,  so  that  each  day 
closed  in  apprehension  as  to  what  might  happen  before 
morning,  and  every  day  seemed  to  bring  news  of  some 
unexpected  tragedy.  The  inhabitants  felt  more  unsafe 
than  if  upon  a  savage  frontier,  because  to  treachery  and 
ferocity  were  added  the  resources  of  a  great  empire  and 
the  devices  of  a  partial  civilization. 

In  this  disturbed  condition  of  things  I  was  compelled, 
on  account  of  the  sick  and  wounded — the  shattered  and 
amputated  limbs — to  take  a  hospital  on  shore,  and  was 
fortunate  enough  to  engage  one  in  charge  of  an  Italian 
priest,  the  worthy  Father  Geronimo.  It  was  in  a  remote 
part  of  the  city,  and  surrounded  above  and  below,  for  it 
stood  on  a  hillside,  by  a  dense  Chinese  population. 

In  the  existing  state  of  things,  the  always  foolish  con- 
tempt with  which  John  Chinaman  had  been  viewed,  now 
gave  place  to  an  exaggerated  estimate  of  his  prowess. 

It  was  a  morning  of  congratulation  when  the  night  had 
passed  without  any  realization  of  the  existing  apprehen- 
sions. Our  situation  was  so  exposed  at  the  hospital,  and 
our  wounded,  our  one-armed  and  one-legged  men,  so  de- 
fenseless, that  a  part  of  the  marine  guard  was  stationejl 
there,  and  another  at  the  naval  storehouse  in  the  neigh- 
borhood— all  under  command  of  Captain  John  D,  Simms. 


THE     IlEIGN     OF     TEEKOR.  479 

Arrangements  were  also  made  for  the  landing  of  boats  iu 
case  of  any  night  attack.  Every  private  house  had  its 
guard  of  foreigners  and  its  private  armory. 

So  far,  every  success  had  been  with  the  Chinese.  They 
had  expelled  us  all  from  Canton,  burnt  the  factories,  cap- 
tured a  valuable  cargo,  and  destroyed  the  steamer  This- 
tle, and  soon  after,  in  like  manner,  destroyed  the  Queen. 
Each  report  was  of  some  new  disaster.  On  the  5th  of 
January  all  Hong  Kong  was  excited  by  a  report  com- 
ing from  among  the  Chinese  themselves  that  the  British 
armed  steamer  Coromandel  had  been  taken  and  all  hai^ds 
destroyed.  On  the  6th,  however,  war-worn,  but  safe,  she 
came  into  the  harbor.  Her  account  of  the  action  in  which 
she  had  been  engaged,  gives  some  idea  of  the  increasing- 
boldness  of  the  Chinese,  and  corrects  the  error  of  despis- 
ing then*  pi'owess  and  courage.  Located  in  the  hospi- 
tal, I  became  now  a  settled  Fankwei,  and  will  give  the 
reader  a  look  at  my  home  and  its  surroundings,  in  which, 
too,  we  are  to  have  some  incidents.  Although  removed 
from  the  heart  of  Victoria  by  some  distance,  we  are  iu 
the  midst  of  busy  scenes.  Perched  like  a  cage  on  the 
mountain  side,  which  rises  bold  and  craggy  behind  us,  we 
look  down  upon  the  main  thoroughfare,  and  over  the  bay 
to  the  hills  and  villages  of  the  mainland  of  China,  two 
miles  distant. 

Directly  under,  and  a  little  in  front  of  our  building  is 
a  large  Chinese-owned  rice-mill,  worked  by  human  foot- 
j)Ower,  treading  on  the  ends  of  levers  which  alternately 
raise  and  let  fall  a  heavy  pestle  in  a  stone  basin  in  which 
is  contained  the  grain.  Day  and  night  this  place  is  going. 
To  me,  and  to  most  persons  who  come  into  my  room,  it  is 
like  the  shaking  of  the  machinery  of  a  noisy  steamboat, 
jarring  the  w'ood-work  as  this  does  my  room.  Some  liken 
it  to  the  tramp  of  horses,  and  others  to  the  pounding  of 
an  industrious  tcancc  of  caulkers. 


■180  1  N     c  a  1  N  A  . 

Having  become  accustomed  to  it  myself,  I  now  never 
notice  it  unless  my  attention  is  called  to  it.  It  is  the 
sound  of  the  whole  day  until  one  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and  then  I  believe  there  is  an  intermission  until  daylight. 
If,  however,  it  stops  at  any  other  time,  my  attention  is 
called  and  I  awake  from  my  sleep.  During  the  height  of 
the  apprehension  here  respecting  Chinese  hostilities,  the 
apprehension  of  blowing  up,  and  conflagration,  I  was  awoke 
one  night  by  the  sudden  stillness  of  the  rice-mill.  It  at 
once  occurred  to  me  that  possibly  the  Chinese  engaged  in 
the  establishment  had  made  all  their  arrangements  for 
blowing  us  up,  as  had  those  of  the  adjoining  baking  estab- 
lishments for  poisoning  us.  I  mentioned  my  suspicions  to 
the  oflicer  associated  with  me  on  duty.  We  determined, 
however,  that  we  must  take  our  chance  for  that  night, 
but  to-morrow  we  would  see  what  was  under  us.  We 
were  glad  to  find  it  all  the  solid  earth  of  the  hill.  The 
bakery  from  which  all  Hong  Kong  was  poisoned  is  just 
above  the  rice-mill,  and  another  opposition  bakery  drives 
its  smoke  into  my  windows  from  the  opposite  side. 

Nearly  opposite  to  us  is  a  busy  ship-yard,  the  more 
busy  now  that  the  shipping  is  driven  from  the  docks  at 
Whampoa;  and  one  side  of  us  a  gang  of  Chinese  are  act- 
ively emjJoyed  in  blasting  and  quarrying  the  granite 
from  the  hill.  On  one  tumbling-down  space  of  the  hill 
are  the  remains  of  an  old  grave-yard,  and  to  me  it  is  a 
melancholy  association,  for  the  grave  nearest  my  window, 
on  the  tumbling  verge  of  the  clayey  hill,  is  that  of  a 
brother  officer  whom  last  I  saw  in  life,  in  another  hemi- 
sjAere,  eighteen  years  ago,  and  then  at  a  gay  dinner  j^arty, 
givmg  his  fine  voice  expression  in  one  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful songs  of  our  language.  What  a  contrast ! — there  He 
his  bones. 

In  front,  we  look  out  and  down  upon  the  bay,  with  its 
shipping,  and  the  villages  of  sampans,  or  small  boats, 


THE     KEIGN     OF     TERROR.  481 

which,  at  the  close  of  the  day,  gather  to  theu'  rendezvous, 
and  cast  their  joss-fires  upon  the  waters. 

Opposite,  about  two  miles  away,  are  the  hills  and 
mountains  of  the  mainland  of  China,  and  the  white  beach 
upon  which  we  see  people  walking,  is  that  of  the  Kow- 
loon  shore.  On  a  calm  evening,  it  looks  a  pleasant  and 
inviting  pull  in  a  boat  over  there,  but,  neighborly  as  the 
two  shores  seem,  and  placid  as  all  looks,  the  white  man 
who  should  try  such  an  evening  excursion  would,  prob- 
ably, leave  his  body  there,  while  his  head  traveled  in  a 
sack  to  Canton. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  and  a  little  below  us, 
in  a  street  made  up  of  Chinese  fruit  shops,  brokers'  offices, 
cook-shops,  tinmen,  brass-founders,  and  the  varied  indus- 
try of  these  Celestials,  rises  a  neat  granite  chapel,  and 
next  it  is  the  residence  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Paul,  seven 
worthy,  and,  so  far  as  my  observation  goes,  agreeable 
women,  who  have  charge  of  the  "  Asile  de  Sainte  En- 
fance,"  an  institution  whicli  receives  and  takes  care  of 
children  abandoned  by  their  parents.  Many  of  these  un- 
happy cases  arise  from  the  horror  the  Chinese  have  of 
having  a  death  in  the  house,  and  hence  they  send  a  dying 
child  to  this  institution,  or  abandon  it  to  its  fate  by  the 
road-side.  A  melancholy  instance  of  this  came  under  my 
own  observation. 

The  mountain,  as  before  said,  rises  abrupt,  rugged,  and 
rocky,  immediately  back  of  the  hospital.  About  twilight, 
on  a  Sunday  evening,  one  of  the  men,  who  had  been  out 
walking  in  the  day,  came  to  me,  and  told  me  there  was  a 
little  Chinese  girl,  about  ten  years  of  age,  lying  behind 
some  rocks  on  the  mountain  side,  in  a  dying  condition. 
I  immediately  sent  out  to  have  the  child  brought  in.  The 
messengers  returned,  after  dark,  without  her,  and  said 
there  was  a  savage-looking  Chinaman  with  the  child,  who 
refused  to  permit  her  to  be  taken  away. 

21 


482  I  N    c  n  I N  A . 

The  Chinese  belonging  to  our  establishment  told  nae 
that  the  parents  of  the  child  had  hired  this  man  to  stay 
with  her  until  she  died,  not  wishing  her  to  die  in  the 
house.  Taking  two  of  the  men,  I  now  went  myself  in 
search  of  the  sufferer.  By  the  light  of  a  lantern,  we 
clambered  tlie  mountain,  but,  after  some  difficult  wander- 
ing among  boulders,  failed  to  find  the  place.  The  light 
of  the  lantern  confused  the  guide.  Leaving  the  lantern 
with  me,  he  continued  the  search  in  the  dark.  After  an 
absence  of  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  we  saw  him  descending 
from  above  us,  followed  by  the  Chinaman,  with  the  child 
in  his  arms.  They  said  it  was  dead.  However,  upon 
lifting  the  lantern  to  its  face,  this  was  found  to  be  a  mis- 
take. It  was  rather  a  handsome  child,  with  full  face  and 
large  black  eyes,  Avhich  it  turned  inquiringly  upon  our 
strange  features,  but  with  an  expression  more  of  hope 
than  fear.  It  slowly  stretched  its  hands  towards  us,  but 
could  not  speak.  The  pulse  was  very  feeble,  and  the 
whole  body  cliUl  with  the  damp  night  air.  A  very  little 
more  exposure  would  have  put  an  end  to  its  existence,  or 
the  rufiian  who  now  held  it  in  his  arms  would  probably 
have  aided  the  matter  by  laying  his  hand  over  its  mouth 
and  nose.  With  some  trouble  and  delay,  I  found  two  old 
Chinawomen,  who  washed  and  clothed  the  child,  and  re- 
mained with  it  over  night.  By  the  administration  of  a 
little  warm  cunjee,  or  rice-water,  and  a  little  wine,  the 
warmth  returned  to  its  skin,  the  pulse  rose,  and  the 
brightness  of  its  eyes  seemed  to  give  some  px'omise  of  re- 
covery. On  the  following  morning  it  was  kindly  received 
into  the  asylum  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Paul,  where  it  Uved 
several  days. 

Being  immediately  on  one  end  of  the  Queen's  road,  I 
am  called  frequently  to  look  over  the  front  railing,  by  the 
sounds  of  music — if  music  it  may  be  called — bagpipes, 
gongs,  tom-toms,  loud  and  rapid  -^  and,  as  we  look  down 


THE     EEIGN     OF     TEEKOE.  483 

into  tlie  street,  we  see  a  rabble  approacbing  us  abnost  at 
a  trot,  tbey  walk  so  fast. 

First,  we  bave  tbe  musicians,  and  tben,  resting  in  a 
square  box,  suspended  from  bandies,  resting  on  men's 
sboulders,  is  a  ipig — a  full-grown  bog,  roasted  wbole 
and  done  brown.  Wbat  is  it — a  wedding  or  a  funeral  ? 
Slung  on  poles,  resting  on  men's  sboulders,  tbere  next 
comes  part  of  a  trunk  of  a  tree,  bewn  smootb — a  very 
cumbrous-looking  aifaii-.  It  is  a  funeral ;  tbat  is  tbe  coffin. 
Some  bave  notbing  but  tbe  plain  wood,  otbers  are  cov- 
ered witb  red  clotb.  Tben  follow  five  or  six  fancifully- 
ornamented  sedan  cbairs,  or  ratber  small-sized  temples, 
in  eacb  of  wbicb  is  some  flower-dressed  article  of  food. 
After  tbese  come  balf  a  dozen  persons,  in  wbite  sugar 
loafed  caps,  and  tbree  or  four  dressed  in  long  wbite 
dresses.  Bebind  all  comes  a  solitary  sedan  cbair,  perbaps 
conveying  some  real  mourner.  Tbe  same  music,  tbe  same 
provision  for  feasting,  Avitb  a  gayly-dressed  sedan  cbair 
conveying  tbe  bride,  substituted  for  tbe  log-like  coffin, 
makes  tbe  funeral  a  wedding. 

From  our  terrace  look-out,  we  bave  a  view  of  mucb  of 
tbe  economy  of  out-of-door  Cbinese  life.  In  front  of  tbe 
sbip-builder's  residence  is  a  long  and  comfortable  veran- 
dah, projecting  over  tbe  pavement,  and  sheltering  it  from 
sun  or  rain.  I  bave  made  a  very  pleasant  acquaintance  of 
the  eye  (I  mean  tbey  are  among  the  famibar  objects  of 
my  daily  range  of  vision)  witb  two  respectable,  matronly 
Cbinese  ladies,  who  daily  come  with  their  low  stools  and 
baskets  of  sewing,  and  take  their  seats  under  this  veran- 
dah, and  there  remain  quietly  and  industriously  at  woi*k, 
until  the  hour  of  returning  to  the  evening  meal.  These 
are  pleasant  objects,  because  tbey  are  so  neat  and  tidy  in 
their  appearance,  so  industrious  in  their  vocation,  and 
their  location  is  so  suggestive  of  economy  and  good 
manaoement. 


484  IN     CHINA. 

There  they  are,  with  plenty  of  air  and  light,  well  pro- 
tected from  the  weather,  and  immediately  on  the  main 
thoroughfare,  where  they  see  every  thing  that  is  going 
on ;  all  so  much  more  comfortable  than  staying  all  day 
in  the,  perhaps,  crowded  den  which  makes  their  home  ; 
and  then,  I  infer,  they  pay  the  ship-builder  no  rent  lor 
sitting  under  his  porch.  Sometimes,  a  Chinese  cobbler, 
with  his  kit,  joins  the  old  ladies  for  a  day  or  two,  and 
they  have  quite  a  chat.  He  is  not,  however,  a  permanent 
tenant,  but,  I  presume,  travels  round  under  all  the  porches 
and  loafer-havens  of  Hong  Kong,  and  brings  to  the  more 
fixed  occupants  budgets  of  travelers'  tales.  Such  are  the 
economical  uses  made  of  all  the  sheltering  appurtenances 
of  Chinese  towns. 

At  the  end  of  the  short  lane  which  led  from  the  main 
street  directly  up  to  the  hospital  was  a  small  jDorch  in 
front  of  the  Chinese  shop.  I  got  up  quite  an  interest  in 
the  sitter  imder  this  porch.  She  evidently  now  belonged 
to  one  of  the  most  humble  walks  of  coolie  life,  as  indicated 
by  her  position  as  worker  in  the  street — and  by  her  poor 
attire.  But  she  had  been  born  to  much  more  aristocratic 
position  and  with  higher  expectations,  for  she  had  the 
smallest  of  small  female  Chinese  feet.  Her  ankles  termi- 
nated in  points  smaller  than  the  hoof  of  a  new-born  colt? 
and  with  all  the  poverty  of  her  attire  the  boastful  feet 
were  clothed  in  neat  ci'imson  slijopers.  Although  haggard 
and  care-worn,  her  countenance  was  more  intelligent,  ani- 
mated and  refined  than  was  characteristic  of  the  class  to 
which  she  now  belonged  ;  her  complexion,  too,  was  more 
fair.  Playing  around  her  on  the  ground  were  two  little 
sickly-looking  children,  with  their  mother's  thin,  pale  fea- 
tures. One  of  them  more  often  lay  languid  and  listless 
on  the  mother's  knee.  I  necessarily  had  to  pass  this  family 
group  every  time  I  went  upon  the  street,  and  I  got  into 
the  habit  of  giving  a  few  copper  cash  to  the  children,  who, 


THE     REIGN     OP     TEREOK.  485 

"wlieu  they  saw  me  approaclimg,  would  run  toward  me, 
when  they  were  well  enough  to  do  so,  holding  out  their 
hands  and  crying,  "  Chin  !  chin  !"  The  mother  made 
what  I  believed  to  be  an  affected  effort  to  stop  them,  but 
would  look  j^leased  and  thankful  on  accovmt  of  the  pit- 
tance given  her  children.  I  was  even  surprised  at  the 
delicacy  which  induced  her  to  affect  any  objection  to  the 
"  cum  shau,"  a^  taking  what  they  can  get  seems  a  proud 
Chinese  virtue.  However,  I  soon  missed  her  and  the 
children  from  the  porch,  and  next  noticed  they  had  taken 
refuge  with  the  elderly  matrons  on  the  opposite  side,  a 
position  I  less  often  passed,  I  once  called  the  attention 
of  a  friend  to  her,  remarking,  "  There  is  a  Chinawoman 
whose  delicacy  is  so  great,  I  have  driven  her  from  her 
former  locality  by  giving  small  sums  of  money  to  her  chil- 
dren." He  said  that  he  would,  therefore,  as  he  passed 
that  way,  give  them  some  money  as  a  reward  for  her  deli- 
cacy. He  did  so  two  or  three  times,  and  she  again  dis- 
appeared. 

There  is,  however,  another  possible  theory  of  this  mys- 
terious and  uncharacteristic  flitting.  It  is  that,  perhaps, 
in  her  fall  from  the  aristocratic  position  of  her  birth,  she 
may  have  dropped  into  the  hands  of  some  uncouth  coolie 
of  the  neighboring  workshops,  and  placing  a  mysterious 
value  upon  a  gem  which  had  unexpectedly  fallen  into  his 
hands,  he  feared  that  all  who  approached  it  might  equally 
value  and  desire  it,  and  therefore  by  his  lordly  orders 
these  movements — the  pale  woman  with  the  little  crira 
son-slippered  feet  and  the  two  pale  children  were  taken 
from  the  incidents  of  our  every-day  Hong  Kong  exist- 
ence. One  little  melancholy  star  which  glimmered  in  the 
gloom  had  set,  and  the  shade  of  darkness  around  us  was 
more  shadowy. 

Other  of   our  neighborhood   associations   were    sug- 
gestive of  urbanity  and  kindly  feeling.    Down  below  us, 


486  IN    CHINA. 

far  between  our  upper-air  elevation  and  the  street,  there 
seemed  to  be  descending  terraces  of  habitations,  besides 
the  mill  which  beat  and  pounded  at  the  base.  Some  of 
these  rooms  Father  Geronimo  had  let  out  to  Portuguese, 
and  even  in  this  little  and  exceedingly  limited  and  obscure 
part  of  a  remote  colony,  I  found  there  were  distinct  unas- 
sLmilating  and  exclusive  ranks.  First,  I  say  first,  perhaps, 
because  nearest  to  me — perhaps,  because  what  is  in  na- 
ture first  will  rise  above  all  conventionalities,  and  present 
itself  first  to  the  mind.  In  my  professional  capacity  I 
came  into  intimate  communion  with  all  these  classes,  and 
marked  their  peculiarities.  First,  there  was  the  family 
of  a  Portuguese  mechanic,  a  baker.  His  children,  boys 
and  girls,  all  worked  hard,  following  the  example  of  their 
mother  and  himself.  They  rose  early,  fed  the  pigs  and 
the  poultry.  My  bedroom  window  overlooked  these 
morning  avocations.  They  dressed  and  went  to  school 
and  chapel — learned  English,  wi'ote  it  well,  spoke  it  well. 
They  drudged  in  the  laborious  road  of  life,  but  hedged  it 
with  courtesies  and  graces.  Having  rendered  them  some 
little  professional  assistance,  almost  daily,  ever  afterward, 
there  came  to  my  room  a  varied  bouquet,  or  a  glass  dish 
of  jasmins,  banana  fliowers,  etc. ;  occasionally  cake  and 
confectionery,  or  the  more  substantial  acknowledgment 
of  a  roast  sucking  pig  bedded  in  roses  and  other  bright 
flowers.  And  when  I  was  about  to  leave  their  neighbor- 
hood, father  and  son  came  in  their  best  attire  with  a  final 
bouquet  of  gratitude. 

My  neighbors  were  not  confined  to  the  shore.  China 
is  celebrated  for  the  amount  of  its  poi^ulation  which  has 
no  foot-hold  upon  the  shore — families  living  in  small  boats 
as  their  only  homes,  and  living,  too,  a  healthy,  cleanly 
and  independent  existence.  No  ground  rent  to  pay,  cer- 
tainly, and  surrounded  in  abundance  with  two  of  the 
essential  elements  of  comfort  and  health — air  and  water. 


THE    EEIGN     OF    TERROR.  487 

In  the  day-time  one  can  scarcely  realize  the  extent  of  this 
water  population.  The  boats  are  then  scattered,  each 
family  following  its  avocation.  Upon  landing  from  a 
ship  visit  on  a  very  dark  night,  I  fell  in  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  or  more  above  the  point  I  intended  to  strike,  and  I 
found  myself  almost  lost  in  a  floating  city  of  small  boats, 
and  upon  a  part  of  the  bay  which  I  was  accustomed  to 
see  every  day  as  a  piece  of  open  water.  The  boat's  crew 
were  compelled  to  lay  in  their  oars,  and  puU  from  boat  to 
boat  through  such  lanes  as  we  could  find,  amid  the  clat- 
tering tongues  of  the  women,  the  cries  of  disturbed 
children,  and  the  perhaps  alarmed  patience  of  the  men, 
who  did  not  know  what  kind  of  an  invasion  was  upon 
them. 

On  the  following  evening  I  noticed  these  boats  gradually 
gathering  in — gathering  in  as  birds  to  their  nest ;  and  be- 
side this  spectacle,  interesting  in  itself,  I  had  presented  to 
me  a  most  beautiful  religious  ceremonial.  As  each  boat 
took  u]}  its  anchorage,  a  member  of  the  floating  family,  I 
presume  the  head,  appeared  suddenly  with  a  bright  torch 
of  burning  paper,  which  flashed  brightly  on  the  water,  as 
it  was  waved  two  or  three  times  toward  some  invisible 
deity,  like  the  gleam  of  a  meteor,  and  then,  being  cast 
upon  the  water,  left  the  family  to  the  repose  of  the  con- 
sciousness of  a  fulfilled  religious  obligation.  One  after 
one,  sometimes  two  or  three  at  a  time,  of  these  fire  ofler- 
ings  gleamed  over  the  water  as  the  boats  came  in  to  their 
rest,  and  in  some  of  them  the  clanging  of  a  gong  accom- 
panied the  ofiering.  This  noisy  tribute  or  demand  upon 
the  deity  may  have  been  peculiar  to  Chinese  pharisees 
who  wished  to  be  heard  of  men.  But  the  oflTering  itself 
shows  how  deeply  im]tlantcd  is  the  religious  sentiment, 
and  this  evening  worship  only  needs  to  be  directed  to 
the  one  God,  with  equal  sincerity,  to  elevate  and  purify 
the  national  character. 


488  IN     CHINA. 

On  the  morning  of  April  3d,  wo  had  the  shock  of  one 
of  those  tragic  occurrences  which  seem  to  he  incident  to 
the  state  of  afiairs  in  Avhich  we  are  living.  Directly  in 
the  heart  of  the  main  street,  an  old  gentleman  was  found 
strangled  in  his  bed,  the  mai-ks  of  the  suffocating  fingers 
upon  his  throat,  and  his  Chinese  coolie  had  fled — a  thing 
easy  enough :  a  short  pull  of  a  boat  would  land  him  upon 
the  Kowloon  shore.  It  certainly  seems  most  extraordi- 
nary that  the  English  do  not  occupy  that  point.  It  is 
the  basis  of  all  hostility  against  Hong  Kong,  and  the 
refuge  of  all  who  are  guilty  of  crimes  against  the  com- 
munity. 

On  the  night  of  this  same  day,  as  I  was  returning  to 
my  home,  on  one  of  the  long,  iminhabited  reaches  or 
commons  below  the  town,  I  met  three  Chinamen  in 
charge  of  a  jDoliceman,  who  had  them,  as  is  usual,  tied 
together  by  their  tails.  Such  an  unhappy  grouping  was 
so  common  in  these  times  that  I  was  passing  without 
giving  more  than  a  glance  at  the  group,  when,  to  my 
surprise,  I  heard  my  name,  or  rather  title,  called,  almost 
in  a  tone  of  shrieking  agony,  by  the  tallest  and  most  con- 
spicuous j)erson  of  the  group  of  prisoners.  He  was  a  very 
tall  man  and  threw  his  arms  high  in  the  air  as  he  called 
upon  me.  I  found  it  a  professional  brother  in  distress,  a 
tall  Chinese  leech  vender,  whose  profession  had  brought 
us  into  acquaintance  and  sympathy.  He  had  been  caught 
out,  after  the  fatal  curfew  hour,  without  a  pass,  and  thus 
ingloriously  tied  by  the  queue  to  two  other  delinquents, 
was  on  his  way  to  the  lock-uj).  I  could  do  no  more  for 
him  than  recommend  him  to  the  best  treatment  of  his 
rough  custodian. 

The  Chinese  have  no  Sabbaths.  From  day  to  day, 
without  intermission,  the  toil  and  the  noise  of  labor  are 
seen  and  heard  throughout  the  land.  But  as  the  year 
draws  to  a  close,  and  the  new  year  ajDproaches,  for  weeks 


THE     REIGN     OP     TERROR.  489 

and  months  the  enjoyments,  the  rest,  the  social  meeting, 
the  gathering  of  families  together  from  long  distances, 
are  a  constant  subject  of  talk  and  happy  anticipation. 
Then  debts  are  to  be  paid,  then  the  year's  profits  are  to 
be  estimated,  and  the  costly  wardrobes  of  Chinese  gen- 
tlemen and  ladies  to  be  disjjlayed — silks,  satins  and  furs, 
decorations  and  jewelry.  The  wardrobe  of  any  respect- 
able Chinese  gentleman  we  know  to  be  a  costly  affair, 
worth  an  occasional  disjilay. 

Money  must  be  had  at  this  time  for  the  purposes  of 
pleasure  and  to  fulfill  obligations,  for  the  Chinaman  who 
goes  into  the  new  year  with  debts  unpaid,  goes  into  it 
with  disgrace.  About  this  time  it  might  be  written  in 
the  Chinese  almanacs,  "  expect  dishonest  servants," 

"  For  those  steal  now  who  never  stole  before, 
And  those  who  always  stole  now  steal  the  more." 

The  shops  begin  to  look  gay — confectionery  is  more 
abundant  and  more  brilliant,  fire  crackers  more  constant 
in  their  confused  and  confusing  detonations. 

"  Must  catchee  now  for  two,  tree  day !"  says  your 
Chinese  servant  as  he  stei)s  into  the  room,  and  uuAvinding 
the  tail  wrapped  around  his  head  lets  it  fall  to  the  floor ; 
to  come  into  the  jjresence  of  a  superior  without  this  mark 
of  deference  would  be  a  discourtesy  of  which  no  well- 
bred  Chinese  would  be,  and  no  subordinate  dare  be, 
guilty.     Courtesy  and  politeness  is  a  Chinaman's  religion. 

"  What  for  must  catchee  ?" 

"  Chinaman  no  makce  pigeon  now  for  two,  tree  day — 
no  can  buy  every  ting." 

This  year  the  English  ordinances  prohibited  Chinese 
festivities,  and  they  had  to  confine  themselves  to  walk- 
ing about  in  their  gay  dresses,  and  this  alone  was  a  bril- 
liant scene,  or  to  leaving  their  crimson  visiting  cards  with 


490  IN     CHINA. 

their  friends  and  acquaintances.  I  called  upon  some 
of  my  shop-keeping  friends,  left  my  card,  and  partook  of 
their  neat  little  tables  of  confectionery  and  other  refresh- 
ments. 

Even  our  sectional  new  year's  calls  are  a  Celestial 
inheritance. 

My  Chinese  acquaintanceship  was  neither  numerous 
n  or  aristocratic ;  neither  was  my  English.  I  belonged  to 
a  profession  which  was  socially  of  low  caste  with  both 
peoi)le. 

Among  my  earliest  acquaintance  with  the  natives 
was  that  of  a  genteel-looking,  well-dressed  man,  in  whose 
store  I  made  a  purchase,  directing  it  to  be  sent  on  board 
ship.  With  my  mind  then  imbued  with  the  prevalent 
vulgar  notions  of  Chinese  trickery  and  dishonesty,  I  was 
annoyed  upon  finding  the  article  delivered  did  not  hold 
out  in  quantity,  and  went  to  the  man  and  stated  the  de- 
ficiency. He  replied  with  some  dignity,  shaming  my 
ii-ritation — "  Of  course  what  you  say  is  correct,  you  need 
pay  for  only  that  you  received." 

A  more  careful  examination  showed  the  mistake  to  be 
that  of  my  servant — all  had  been  delivered.  I  again  went 
to  the  man  and  confessed  my  error;  he  said  it  was  of  no 
consequence,  and  politely  invited  me  to  take  a  glass  of 
soda  water  with  him. 

As  the  15th  of  January,  1857,  approached,  all  hands 
on  board  the  San  Jacinto  were  in  a  state  of  hoiDeful  ex- 
ultation. Then  she  was  to  leave  the  disheartening  scenes 
and  life  of  Hong  Kong  for  the  pleasures  and  beauties  of 
Manilla.  But,  alas,  on  the  morning  of  the  15th  there 
came  a  sickening  disappointment.  The  breakfast  in  the 
hospital  wards  was  an  hour  or  two  before  my  own,  and 
soon  after  it  had  been  served  the  hosiDital  steward  rushed 
into  my  room  saying  all  the  men  in  the  hosj^ital  were 
poisoned.     I  hurried  in  and  found  it  true.     On  both  sides 


THE     REIGJSr     OF     TEEEOE.  491 

of  the  long  ward  tlie  men  were  sufferiug  violent  and  dis- 
tressing illness,  and  all  naturally  in  a  great  state  of  alarm. 
There  was  only  one  exception  to  the  general  sickness, 
and  that  man  was  suffering  from  lock-jaw  in  consequence 
of  a  rocket  wound. 

I  supposed  the  cause  of  iUuess  was  local,  confined  to 
our  own  establishment — the  Chinese  coolies  were  suffer- 
ing as  well  as  our  own  men.  The  cook,  a  Chinaman,  was 
very  much  frightened  and  agitated.  In  the  course  of  two 
hours,  by  the  use  of  appropriate  remedies,  the  men  were 
all  relieved  and  quiet,  and  Captain  Simms  and  I  went  to 
our  breakfast,  taking  the  precaution  to  make  our  own 
tea.  By  a  most  trivial  and  accidental  occurrence  neither 
of  us  ate  any  bread.  This  was  supplied  us  from  an  out- 
side bakery ;  and  it  was  only  after  our  own  breakfast 
my  attention  was  called  to  the  fact  that  the  lock-jawed 
man  had  esca^Ded  ;  and  he  alone  had  eaten  no  bread.  By 
this  time,  however,  most  of  Hong  Kong  had  breakfasted, 
and  I  received  a  hurried  call  from  the  ship-builder's  es- 
tablishment on  the  opposide  side  of  the  street.  They 
were  all,  European  workmen  and  Chinese  laborers,  as  my 
hospital  had  been  two  hours  before.  I  had  scarcely  pre- 
scribed for  them  Avhen  a  sedan  chair  came  for  me  to 
hurry  up  to  a  friend's  commercial  establishment  a  mile 
or  two  up  town.  1  found  them  in  the  like  condition,  in- 
cluding the  commander  of  a  Russian  man-of-war  staying 
with  them.  But  other  medical  gentlemen  were  in  at- 
tendance. 

All  Hong  Kong  was  poisoned,  from  the  governor  and 
family  down,  and  my  honest  friend,  the  gentlemanly 
grocer,  Essing  or  Ahira,  with  all  liis  establishment,  was 
arrested  fur  the  crime. 

The  supposed  plan  was  to  poison  all  they  could,  and 
then  take  the  city.  Essing  Avas  the  jiroprietor  of  the 
largest  baking  establishment  in  town,  worked  by  expen- 


492  IN    on  IN  A. 

sire  machineiy.  He  supplied  the  city,  the  shipping,  the 
troops.  In  the  first  indignation  it  was  proposed  to  exe- 
cute him  summarily,  hut  laAv  and  order  prevailed,  and  he 
was  committed  for  trial.  I  carefully  studied  the  trial,  and 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  had  no  knowledge  of  the 
matter  or  participation  in  it.  The  poison,  arsenic  in  large 
quantities,  was  introduced  into  the  bread  by  two  of  his 
workmen,  who  made  their  escape  ;  and  it  is  creditable  to 
an  English  jury  that  in  the  conviction  of  Essing's  guilt 
restihg  on  the  public  mind,  they  had  the  clearness  of 
judgment  and  honesty  of  purpose  to  acquit  him.  He  was, 
however,  detained  in  prison  after  his  acquittal,  and  ruined 
in  name  and  fortune. 

The  following  extraordinary  sentences  are  from  the 
speech  of  the  attorney  general  of  the  colony  : 

"  "Would  any  one  have  disapproved  if  a  different  course 
had  been  pursued  towards  the  prisoners,  and  instead  of 
allowing  them  a  trial,  which  such  monsters  do  not  de- 
serve, they  had  been  dealt  with  in  a  summary  manner, 
and  had  suffered  those  short  and  sharp  pangs  of  death 
which  they  had  intended  we  should  suffer  ?  Their  crime 
deseiwed  the  fate  of  a  drum-head  court  martial ;  but 
much,  gentlemen,  as  I  may  regret  that  they  are  before 
a  jury  at  all,  still  they  are  now  before  one,  and  I  am 
bound  to  tell  you,  that  if  any  reasonable  doubt  of  their 
guilt  rests  upon  your  minds,  you  are  bound  to  acquit 
them.  But,  gentlemen,  it  will  not  be  your  duty  to 
stretch  the  points  set  up  for  their  defense  to  too  great  a 
length  ;  and  in  this  opinion  I  feel  certain  the  Bench  will 
concur."  ^ 

A  poetical  narrator  of  the  transaction  seems  to  accord 
in  the  views  of  the  attorney  general,  as  did  most  of  the 
foreign  inhabitants  of  Hong  Kong — 

"  It  has  been  inferred, 
By  the  historians  of  oiir  present  time, 


THE     REIGN     OF     TEEKOR  493 

That  in  the  long,  elaborate  summing  up, 
In  which  his  lordship  was  most  fair  and  clear, 
There  sometimes  would  peep  out  a  word  or  two, 
As  if  conviction  in  that  good  man's  mind 
Were  somewhat  certain  of  the  prisoners'  guilt. 
Howe'er  it  be,  the  gentlemen  with  whom 
The  fiat  rested,  or  for  death  or  life. 
Chose,  no  doubt  wisely,  to  accord  the  last. 
The  chief  raised  high  his  most  celestial  cap, 
And  bowed  his  gratitude — both  for  himself 
And  martyr-comrades.     He  could  be  polite — 
(So  too  can  cut-throats). — But,  't  was  not  polite 
For  one  unfeeling  rascal  to  roar  out, 
As  he,  the  freed  conspirator,  passed  down 
The  court-house  steps — '  0,  ye  Gods !  I  wish 
That  we  could  know,  but  for  one  single  hour, 
The  Yigilance  Committee,  or  Judge  Lynch.'  " 

Altogether  the  state  of  things  was  very  uncomfortable, 
and  it  was  thought  hardly  in  accordance  with  duty  to  our 
own  countrymen  and  with  comity  towards  the  English, 
for  the  San  Jacinto  to  leave  the  colony  at  this  time,  es- 
pecially as  Commodore  Armstrong  had  received  the  fol- 
lowing request  from  Sir  John  Bowring  : 


No.  14.  GovERXXiEXT  Offices, 

Victoria,  Hong  Kong,  January  G,  185Y. 
Sir, — 

A  number  of  masters  of  American  merchant  ves- 
sels now  lying  at  anchor  in  this  port,  have  suggested  to 
Captain  Watkins,  the  harbor  master,  the  expediency  of 
my  making  application  to  your  Excellency  for  assistance 
in  securing  the  protection  of  the  shipping  at  night. 

In  the  present  state  of  affairs  I  do  not  hesitate  to  ac- 
cede to  this  suggestion,  and  shall  feel  greatly  obliged  if 
your  Excellency  can  make  arrangements  for  rowing  guard 
durinjr  dark. 


494  IN     CHINA. 

The  scantiness  of  the  British  naval  force  permanently 
in  liarbor,  and  the  largo  amount  of  mercantile  shippuig 
now  berthed  here,  induce  me  to  trouble  your  Excellency 
Avith  this  request. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
Your  Excellency's  most  obedient  servant, 

John  Bowking, 

Governor,  etc. 

His  Excellency  CoMiioDOKE  Armstrong,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.. 

United  States  Steam  Frigate  San  Jacinto. 


But,  as  before  said,  the  times  were  very  uncomfortable. 
The  Chinese  authorities  had  issued  a  proclamation  for  all 
Chinese  to  leave  the  employ  of  foreigners.  The  English 
had  passed  an  ordinance  that  authorized  any  foreigner  to 
shoot  any  Chinaman  who  might  be  found  in  the  streets 
after  8  p.  m.,  unless  he  answered  a  hail,  and  no  court  or 
authority  was  to  inquire  into  the  act.  Two  English  po- 
hcemen  were  found  in  the  streets  shorter  their  heads. 
One  of  our  marines  was  missed  from  roU-call,  and  his  dead 
body  came  ashore ;  his  cries  of  murder  and  for  assistance 
having  been  heard  two  or  three  nights  before. 

After  8  o'clock  at  night  the  streets,  which  last  summer 
were  thronged,  are  deserted — every  house  was  a  fortress. 
Sohtary  passers  about  are  belted  with  sword  and  pistol. 
Drum-beatings,  armed  patrols,  guard-mountings,  hails  of 
sentries,  meet  you  in  the  once  peaceful  streets.  Before 
night  sets  in  you  may  meet  the  musters  of  special  police, 
composed  of  Malays,  Lascars,  humble  citizens  out  of  em- 
ploy, drunken  sailors,  and  even  Chinese,  with  muskets, 
pistols,  pikes,  and  all  sorts  of  outre  costumes. 

Take  us  Fankwei  altogether,  we  are,  gentlemen,  sol- 
diers, rough-scutf  and  all,  drunk  and  sober,  about  two 
thousand  on  the  island  of  Hong  Kong.  The  Chmese  are 
seventy  thousand. 


THE     EEIGN     OF     TEKROE.  495 

Whilst  this  state  of  things  was  wearing  out  time  and 
men,  I  was  sitting  quietly  in  my  room  one  evening,  re- 
moved, by  a  charming  page,  to  other  scenes,  when  I 
smelt  strongly  the  odor  of  burning  pine.  I  thought  my 
room  must  be  on  fire  close  to  me,  and  even  fancied  I  saw 
smoke  in  the  air ;  but  upon  a  careful  examination,  discov- 
ering nothing  of  the  kind,  I  resumed  my  book,  although 
the  odor  continued  and  increased.  In  about  half  an  hour 
I  was  aroused  by  a  confused  noise  in  the  streets,  and  look- 
ing out,  saw  a  dense  column  of  smoke  ascending  from 
behind  the  residence  of  the  "  Sisters  of  St.  Paul,"  and 
immediately  it  burst  into  flame. 

Upon  hurrying  to  the  spot  I  found  it  was  the  flour 
warehouse  of  an  Englishman  by  the  name  of  Duddell,  who 
had  taken  the  unfortunate  Essing's  establishment.  While 
fire  engines  were  hurrying  to  the  conflagration,  troops 
were  mustering  in  the  defenseless  parts  of  the  city,  so 
that  all  purpose  of  greater  evil  than  the  destruction  of 
the  flour  was  prevented.  But  the  enemy's  incendiaries 
were  evidently  among  us. 

Sometime  after  this.  Commodore  Elliott  caj^tured  some 
Mandarin  junks,  and  on  board  were  found  certain  papers 
which  made  developments  respecting  the  fire,  the  poison- 
ing, and  other  pleasant  demonstrations  in  which  we  were 
interested,  telUng  us  of  some  which  had  failed,  but  of 
which  we  had  no  knowledge.  The  following  are  the 
revelations  of  these  interesting  documents: 

"Man-hing — the  nephew  of  Man  Tsap-shin,  a  gentle- 
man,  the  author  of  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  burn  or 
blow  up  the  city  of  Victoria,  and  the  probable  agent  in 
the  destruction  of  Duddcll's  store,  of  which  his  nephew 
gives  notice  two  days  before."  They  kej^t  a  close  eye 
upon  us. 

On  the  21st  of  January,  Ch'an  Tsz'-tin  informs  his 
brother  that  his  braves  are  so  planted  at  Sha-tin  and  Tai- 


496  IN     CHINA. 

wei,  in  rear  of  Kowloon,  as  to  command  all  the  approaches 
to  the  latter  place,  which  is  separated  from  the  others  by 
the  steep  range  of  hills  facing  Ilong  Kong.  Victoria,  he 
hears,  is  in  great  perplexity.  "  A  proclamation  is  issued 
once  a  day,  and  three  sets  of  regulations  every  two  days. 
People  abroad  at  night  are  taken  up  in  haste,  and  dis- 
charged with  equal  precipitation."  No  one  is  allowed 
out  after  eight  o'clock ;  the  shojjs  are  forced  to  take  out 
tickets  (passes  ?)  and  to  pay  sixteen  dollars  a  ticket,  and 
these  have  to  be  changed  every  few  days.  Boats  passing 
to  and  fro  between  Kowloon  and  Victoria  are  not  searched, 
but  a  bakery  (it  is  not  here  stated  whose)  had  been  closed, 
and  some  forty  peojile  imprisoned  for  poisoning  a  number 
of  English  devils. 

On  the  24th  of  January,  he  rej^orts  an  improvement  in 
the  working  of  the  interdict  to  the  eastward,  in  the  re- 
gion overlooked  by  his  pickets.  Two  of  his  braves  have 
visited  Victoria,  and  counted  one  hundred  and  ten  foreign 
vessels  in  harbor,  but  declare  that  there  is  not  one  tenth 
of  the  usual  quota  of  native  craft  belonging  to  the  prov- 
ince. There  are  some  from  other  provinces,  viz.,  north 
and  east  coasters.  The  west  end  of  the  city  is  quite  de- 
serted, and  the  English,  by  the  unanimous  declaration  of 
the  Chinese,  thoroughly  dispii'ited.  All  mat  and  wooden 
buildings  had  been  demolished  toward  East  Point.  He 
also  reports  a  great  burglary  iu  the  centre  of  Victoria ; 
the  burglai's  had  escaped  with  several  thousand  dollars, 
over  the  hills. 

On  the  5th  of  Februar}';  Ch'an  Tsz'-tin  writes  to  his  elder 
brother  Ch'an  Kwei-tsib,  that  an  intended  expedition 
of  the  braves  across  the  water  (to  Hong  Kong)  had 
failed.  The  English  were  too  well  on  their  guard.  Can- 
non are  fired  by  night  at  intervals,  to  keep  their  spirits 
up.  Cruisers  constantly  sweep  the  harbor.  The  black 
troops   who   have   come   on,   drill  incessantly.      "  Such 


THE     EEIGN     OF     TEKEOE.  497 

being-  the  doubt  and  alarm  of  the  English  rebels,  we 
must  wait  until  they  tire  a  little ;  a  blow  will  then  be 
sure."  This  was  the  first  notice  we  had  of  such  a  hostile 
movement. 

Ch'an  Tsz'-tin  has  further  news  fi'om  Victoria.  After 
admitting  his  misgivings  above-mentioned,  he  thinks  we 
are  "  so  utterly  broken"  that  we  shall  not  venture  to  dis- 
turb Kowloon,  The  Americans,  at  Hong  Kong,  look  on 
the  present  state  of  things  as  full  of  danger,  and  are  send- 
ing their  shi^js  away. 

He  is  sanguine  about  the  safety  of  Kowloon,  and  his 
confidence  is  strengthened  on  the  21st  of  February,  when 
an  English  steamer  brought  over  seventy-two  pirates  and 
surrendered  them  to  the  fort.  Kowloon  was  in  great 
alarm,  and  the  garrison  stood  to  their  arms.  The  English 
went  away,  however,  without  doing  any  mischief  "What 
their  purpose  (or  intention)  may  be,  it  is  indeed  difficult 
for  any  man  to  divine." 

This  vigilant  Chinaman  is  not  the  only  one  mystified 
by  this  transaction.  It  refers  to  a  capture,  made  in  the 
vic'nitj^of  Hong  Kong,  of  some  Chinese  junks.  It  was 
doubtf  ;1  whether  they  were  pirates  or  rebels.  Instead 
of  trying  the  question  in  Hong  Kong,  the  English  authori- 
ties sent  them  over  to  Kowloon,  where,  if  rebels,  their 
fate  was  certain.  The  leader  claiming  to  be  a  rebel  chief, 
protested  against  this  surrender,  in  the  following  lan- 
guage : 

He  said,  "  Had  I  been  found  guilty  of  any  thing  against 
the  laws  of  Hong  Kong  I  would  cheerfully  have  given  up 
my  life,  but  with  no  such  charge  against  me,  to  be  handed 
over  to  the  men  against  whom  I  have  been  so  long  en- 
gaged in  upholding  what  I  consider  a  good  cause,  the  act 
is  infamous." 

The  following  are  two  verses  of  reference  to  the  matter, 
by  a  poet  of  Hong  Kong : 


498  IN     CHINA. 

THE  KOWLOON  DISPATCH. 

Sir  John  presents  his  compliments 

To  his  friends  on  the  Kowloon  shore, 
And  begs  to  submit  to  their  tender  care 

Some  seventy  subjects  or  more. 

The  prisons  are  full,  and  the  den  is  unfit. 

At  least  so  the  public  say ; 
So  ho  trusts  that  his  Kowloon  friends  can  dispose 

Of  the  dogs  in  some  quieter  way. 

The  captured  dispatches  contained  this  other  pleasant 
information : 

On  the  21st  of  February,  Ch'an  man-sin,  nephew  of 
Ch'au  Sz'-tin,  writes  to  his  uncle  to  inform  him  that  the 
San-on  committee  had  forwarded  to  Canton  an  English 
head  taken  from  an  English  cruising  boat  (it  is  believed 
he  means  to  say  near  Aberdeen  on  the  south  side  of  the 
island) .  The  rest  of  the  crew  escaped  to  land.  "  The 
Canton  committee  are  giving  now  only  thirty  taels  for 
devils  taken,  dead  or  alive."  (It  will  be  remembered  that 
Yeh's  earlier  proclamations  promised  one  hundred  taels 
reward  for  Englishmen  taken  alive.  He  then  interlines.) 
"  For  a  devil's  head  they  may  possibly  give  but  thirty 
dollars ;  the  San-on  committee  (consequently)  do  not  now 
much  prize  devil's  heads."  He  goes  on  to  mention,  that 
some  days  had  elaj^sed  before  the  braves  consented  to  re- 
ceive the  reward  lately  sent;  requests  his  imcle,  if  he  is 
going  to  employ  his  own  braves  in  the  getting  of  heads, 
to  tell  them  plainly  the  state  of  the  case ;  and,  finally, 
recommends  him  not  to  be  keen  in  the  head-hunting,  as 
it  is  unremunerative. 

These  Chinese  documents  give  an  outside  view  of  our 
settlement  and  the  designs  upon  it.  For  the  security  our 
squadron  gave  to  Hong  Kong  in  this  reign  of  terror,  the 
United  States  received  through  Lord  Napier  the  thanks 
of  the  British  government,  conveyed  as  follows: 


THE     REIGN     OF     TEEROE.  499 

COPY. 

Naty  Department,  April  22d,  ISST. 
Snt, — 

I  take  much  pleasure  in  foi'warding  to  you  the 
inclosed  copy  of  a  note  of  the  17th  instant,  addressed  to 
the  Department  of  State  by  the  British  minister,  express- 
ing the  thanks  of  his  government  for  assistance  rendered 
by  you  in  protecting  the  property  and  commercial  inter- 
ests concentrated  at  Hong  Kong. 

I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 
{Signed)  I.  Toucey, 

Commodore  James  Armstrong, 

Commanding  U.  S.  Squadron, 

East  India  and  China  Seas. 

True  copy.  A.  Van  Den  Heuvel, 

Commodore's  Secretary. 
COPY. 

Her  Majesty's  Legation, 
■Washinqton,  April  I7th,  1857. 

Sir, — 

Her  Majesty's  government  have  learned,  with 
much  gratification,  from  Sir  John  Bowring,  that  the 
officer  in  command  of  the  United  States  naval  forces  at 
Hong  Kong  has  aftbrdcd  his  cooperation  to  the  British 
authorities  for  the  protection  of  the  valuable  property 
and  commercial  interests  concentrated  at  that  port.  I 
am  directed  by  the  Earl  of  Clarendon  to  tender  his 
thanks  to  the  United  States  government  for  the  assist- 
ance and  good  offices  so  obligingly  granted  by  Commo- 
dore Armstrong. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  consideration. 
Sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

{Signed)  Napier. 

The  Honorable  Lewis  Cass,  etc,  etc.,  etc. 

True  copy.  A.  Van  Den  Hkuvel, 

Commodore's  Secretary. 


500  IN     CUINA. 

As  the  year  1857  passed  along,  all  foreign  residents  in 
Cliina  had  learned  to  respect  the  prowess  of  the  once  de- 
spised Chinese.  The  following  language  of  a  Hong  Kong 
pajicr  shows  the  changed  judgment : 

"Thattlie  Chinese  have  abandoned  all  hope  of  meeting 
us  with  great  guns  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  but  that  they 
are  confident  of  their  ability  to  repel  us  in  the  field,  the 
little  affair  of  the  '  Bantam'  (a  recent  action  in  which  the 
British  were  driven  off),  we  submit,  fully  illustrates.  In- 
deed they  seem  anxious  to  fight,  and  their  courage  against 
such  desperate  odds  shows  matter  for  congratulation  that 
we  have  commanders  who  do  not  despise  the  enemy." 

But  troops,  black  and  white,  shijis  and  gun-boats,  French 
and  English,  thickened  as  the  year  advanced,  and  on  its 
last  days,  the  contest  was  relinquished ;  a  slight  resistance, 
and  the  City  of  Rams  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  allied  bar- 
barians, who,  at  last,  though  excluded  for  a  thousand  years, 
trod  its  streets  as  masters. 

Everybody  expected  the  capture  of  Canton,  and  there- 
fore this  was  no  surj^rise ;  but  none  looked  for  the  taking 
of  that  great  living  mystery,  Teh-ming-ching,  or,  as  he 
is  generally  called  by  the  Chinese,  Yeep.  The  hered- 
itary baron,  the  fourth  prince  of  the  empire,  he  who  had 
chopped  off  one  hundred  thousand  rebel  heads ;  the  hyena 
di'agging  his  enemies  from  their  graves ;  the  wolf  tear- 
ing them  down  amid  the  faintings  of  famine ;  the  tiger 
simngiDg  upon  them  in  the  moment  of  security  ;  the  lion 
roaring  a  bold  and  gallant  defiance  to  all  the  world  ;  the 
wily  fox  writing  diplomatic  essays  upon  morality,  and 
deceiving  all  who  trusted  his  virtue — for  all  this  was  Yeh 
— was  taken  in  his  den. 

At  one  time  it  was  reported  he  had  died  the  "  golden 
death,"  the  honorable  end  of  a  defeated  Chinese  states- 
man. As  explained  to  me,  it  is  effected  by  swallowing 
some  destructive  fluid,  cupped  in  golden  leaf.     Our  friend 


THE     BEIGN     OF     TEEROR.  501 

Lan,  the  Tautai,  whom  we  met  at  Shanghae,  did  die  this 
death,  but  Yeh  became  a  prisoner  on  board  an  English 
man-of-war.  He  attempted  to  escape  in  the  dress  of  a 
laborer,  and  one  of  his  friends  made  a  chivalric  attempt 
to  pass  himself  otf  for  his  master  ;  but  he  was  as  wonderful 
looking  as  he  is  wonderful,  and  was  recognized ;  being 
about  fifty,  nearly  six  feet  high,  of  great  corporeal  volume 
and  with  an  enormous  brain.  Physically  and  mentally 
he  is  great. 

Taken  with  him  was  Moh,  the  Tartar  general,  and 
Pehkwei,  the  Governor  proper  of  Canton.  This  last,  a 
native  of  Pekin,  had  filled  several  important  oflices  in 
different  parts  of  the  empire.  Some  years  ago  he  visited 
Sir  John  Davis  at  Hong  Kong.  Subsequent  to  this  visit, 
in  1849,  he  had  a  conversation  with  the  late  Emperor  Ta- 
oukwang.  It  is  given  in  Meadows's  "  Chinese  and  their 
Rebellions,"  and  is  worth  repeating,  as  showing  how  they 
regard  this  city  of  Hong  Kong  ;  how  they  look  upon  for- 
eigners and  that  commerce  which  we  regard  as  the  ulti- 
mate end  of  war  and  diplomacy. 

He  said  to  the  emperor : 

"  The  English  barbarians  have  gone  to  great  .expense 
in  building  houses,  with  the  view  of  permanently  residing 
there  (Hong  Kong)  and  living  in  quiet.  The  people  of 
Hong  Kong  and  its  neighborhood  took,  at  an  early  pe- 
riod, an  aversion  to  these  barbarians ;  and  local  bandits 
have  long  been  waiting,  with  mouths  watering,  for  the 
place.  The  barbarians  are  therefore  constantly  in  dread, 
fearing  they  may  lose  it." 

Emjieror.  So  they  have  added  to  their  troubles  by  giv- 
ing themselves  another  internal  care.  However,  notwith- 
standing this,  tliey  have  always  got  their  own  country  for 
a  haunt  (Utcrally,  nest  and  den,  expressions  frequently 
applied  to  the  capitals  of  foreign  sovereigns). 

Answer.  Yes,  Sire. 


502  IN     CHINA. 

Emperor.  Do  you  think,  from  the  appearance  of  things 
in  Kwang  tuug,  that  the  English  barbarians  or  any  other 
people  will  cause  trouble  again  ? 

Atiswer.  No.  England  itself  has  got  nothing,  and  when 
the  English  barbarians  rebelled  in  1841,  they  depended 
entirely  on  the  power  of  the  other  nations,  Avho,  with  a 
view  to  open  trade,  supported  them  with  funds.  In  the 
I^resent  year  the  (here  follow  two  words  which  do  not 
make  sense  with  the  context,  "  teen  te,"  literally,  "  laws 
and  territory  ;"  probably,  "  subject  territories"  were  the 
words  used)  of  England  yield  her  no  wilUng  obedience. 

Emperor.  It  is  plain  from  this  that  these  barbarians  al- 
ways look  on  trade  as  then-  chief  occupation,  and  are 
wanting  in  any  high  purpose  of  striving  for  territorial  ac- 
quisitions. 

Ansioer.  At  bottom  they  belong  to  the  class  of  brutes 
(dogs  and  horses) ;  it  is  impossible  they  should  have  any 
high  purpose. 

Emperor.  Hence  in  their  country  they  have,  now  a  wo- 
man, now  a  man  as  their  prince  (wang).  It  is  j^lain  they 
are  not  worth  attendiugto.  Have  they  got,  like  us,  any 
fixed  time  of  service  for  their  soldiers'  head,  Bonham  ? 

Answer.  Some  are  changed  once  in  two  years,  some 
once  in  three  years.  Although  it  is  the  prince  of  these 
barbarians  who  sends  them,  they  are,  in  reality,  recom- 
mended by  the  body  of  their  merchants. 

Emperor.  What  goods  do  the  French  trade  in  ? 

Ansioer.  The  wares  of  these  barbarians  are  only  cam- 
lets, woolen  cloth,  clocks,  watches,  cottons  and  the  like. 
All  the  countries  have  got  them,  good  or  bad. 

Emperor.  What  country's  goods  are  deai'est  ? 

Answer.  They  have  all  got  both  dear  and  cheap.  There 
is  no  great  difterence  in  their  prices  (of  similar  articles) ; 
only,  with  respect  to  the  camlets,  the  French  are  said  to 
be  the  best. 


THE     EEIGN     OF    TERROR.  503 

JEmperor.  It  appears  to  me  that  the  barbarians  depend 
entirely  on  Kwang  tung  for  gaining  their  livelihood. 

Ansice)'.  The  people  of  Kwang  tung  thoroughly  see 
that  the  barbarians  can  not  do  without  that  province. 

Emperor.  Have  the  EngUsh  barbarians  of  late  been  re- 
duced in  power  or  not  ? 

Answer.  They  appear  to  be  somewhat  reduced. 

Emperor.  Do  the  soldiers  at  Hong  Kong  amoimt  to 
three  or  four  thousand  ? 

Answer.  Not  more  than  two  or  three  thousand,  the 
gi'eater  half  of  whom  are  really  but  nominal.  The  greater 
half  of  the  green-clothed  soldiers  (Ceylon  Rifles  ?)  have 
dispersed  on  account  of  the  insufliciency  of  the  funds  for 
the  troops.  Trade  does  not  flourish  at  Ningpo  and  those 
ports. 

Emperor.  I  have  heard  that  it  is  not  good  at  Ningpo 
and  Amoy,  and  at  Shanghae  too.  From  this  we  see  that 
prosperity  is  always  followed  by  decay. 

Ansicer.  The  English  barbarians  were  in  a  bad  state 
last  year  in  their  own  country,  where  they  were  visited 
by  an  epidemic ;  and  in  Hong  Kong,  last  year,  upwards 
of  a  thousand  people  died  from  the  hot  exhalations. 

Emperor.  In  all  afiairs  prosperity  is  followed  by  decay. 
What  avails  the  power  of  man  ? 

Ansicer.  Your  Majesty's  divine  fortune  is  the  cause  (of 
the  decay  of  the  English  power). 

Amid  these  unhappy  conditions  of  Fankwei  and  Celes- 
tial, information  reached  Commodore  Armstrong  that 
possibly  some  of  our  countrymen  were  in  slavery  among 
the  savages  of  the  island  of  Formosa.  It  was  also  very 
uncertain  what  might  be  our  ultimate  relations  with  the 
Chinese,  and  hence  all  attainable  information  respecting 
tTiis  island  was  desirable.  The  Commodore,  therefore, 
dispatched  Captain  Simms,  of  the  marine  corps,  to  For- 
mosa, where  an  American  merchant  had  an  independent 


504  I  N     C  II  I  N  A  .  ' 

settlement,  to  make  inquiries  respecting  our  reputed  en- 
slaved people,  and  to  acquire  such  other  information  as 
might  be  useful. 

In  taking  this  step.  Commodore  Armstrong  anticipated 
the  subsequent  orders  of  the  government.  Captain  Sirams, 
after  a  residence  of  some  months,  made  the  following  re- 
port of  his  mission.  It  presents  an  interesting  glance 
at  a  part  of  Formosa,  and  goes  far  to  allay  the  unhappy- 
anxiety  of  those  who  have  had  friends  in  shij)s  which  have 
been  lost  in  those  wild  and  desolate  regions. 

Shakghae,  Decemher  I'lth,  1857. 
Sir: 

I  wrote  you  on  the  25th  ultimo,  informing  you 
of  my  arrival  here  from  Formosa.  My  letter  was  a  very 
hurried  one,  as  I  only  heard,  a  very  short  time  before  I 
wrote,  that  an  opportunity  was  afforded  me  to  do  so. 
I  will  now  endeavor  to  give  you  a  fuller  account  of  my 
mission  to  Formosa.  A  few  weeks  after  my  arrival  at 
Takow — my  designated  station — I  forwarded  your  dis- 
l^atch,  accomj:)anied  with  a  Chinese  translation  of  it,  to 
the  Teen  Tae. 

I  sent  it  through  the  mandarin  who  commands  the 
department  of  Cocksicon,  who  j^romised  to  have  it  safely 
delivered.  After  a  long  delay  I  received  a  document, 
which  was  delivered  to  me  by  the  Chinese  shroff  of 
Messrs.  W.  M.  Robinet  &  Co.,  who  informed  me  that 
it  was  for  you,  and  was  written  by  the  oiEcial  through 
whom  I  had  sent  your  letter.  The  shroff  also  informed 
me  that  the  mandarin  directed  him  to  say  to  me,  that 
the  Teen  Tae  would  not  receive  the  dispatch  I  had  sent 
him,  assigning  as  a  reason  for  his  refusing  to  do  so,  that 
the  authorities  of  the  island  could  hold  no  diplomatic 
correspondence  with  foreigners  without  permission  of  the 
Emperor  of  China. 


THE     KEIGN     OF     TERKOR.  605 

Previous  to  my  sending  your  letter  to  the  Teen  Tae,  I 
had  an  interview  with  the  mandarin  through  whom  I 
transmitted  it,  and  explained  to  him  that  my  visit  to 
Formosa  was  of  a  friendly  nature,  and  that  your  letter 
was  an  amicable  one.  He  appeared  to  be  very  desirous 
to  give  me  every  facility  in  his  power  to  accomplish  the 
object  of  my  visit,  and  promised  to  use  every  effort  to 
acquire  the  information  I  wished.  He  was  in  charge  of 
the  district  of  Cocksicon  at  the  time  I  sent  my  dispatch, 
but  has  now  charge  of  the  department  of  Tamsui,  situated 
on  the  northern  part  of  the  island.  I  frequently  visited 
him  before  his  departure  for  Tamsui,  and  urged  him  to 
use  every  endeavor  to  discover  if  any  foreigners  were 
prisoners  on  the  island.  He  always  assured  me  that  he 
had  done  all  in  his  power,  and,  from  the  information  he 
obtained,  he  was  convinced  there  were  no  white  persons 
held  in  caj^tivity  by  the  Chinese  inhabitants.  In  regard 
to  their  being  any  j^risoners  among  the  aborigines  of 
the  island,  he  could  give  no  information,  as  there  is  con- 
stant war  between  the  two  nations,  and  no  Chinaman 
dares  to  enter  their  territory.  These  aborigines  live 
generally  in  the  mountains,  and  I  have  not  been  able  to 
see  any  of  them ;  some  few  have  been  met  with  in  the 
northern  end  of  the  island  by  the  masters  of  trading  ves- 
sels, who  describe  tliem  as  resembling  the  Malays,  and  as 
being  a  savage  race.  During  my  stay  at  Takow  a  report 
was  in  circulation  that  some  white  persons  were  prisoners 
with  these  natives.  I  made  the  most  particular  inquiries 
to  discover  if  such  was  the  case,  but  could  learn  nothing 
to  make  me  think  there  was  truth  in  the  report.  I 
have  not  allowed  myself  to  be  influenced  by  the  state- 
ments of  the  Chinese  oflicials,  but  have  mixed  a  great 
deal  with  the  people,  for  tlie  purpose  of  getting  all  the 
information  possible,  but  could  never  hear  of  any  for- 
eigners being  prisoners  on  the  island.     I  have  bad  no  op- 

22 


506  IN     CHINA. 

portunity  until  now  to  forward  you  tlie  mandarin's  letter 
to  yourself. 

In  relation  to  the  outrage  alleged  to  have  been  com- 
mitted  by  the  Chinese  inhabitants  of  Takow  upon  the 
officers  of  the  American  brig  Progressive  Age,  I  have 
been  unable  to  learn  any  thing  from  the  Chinese  authori- 
ties, as  they  pretend  not  to  know  any  thing  about  the 
affiiir.  I  inclose  you  a  statement  from  Mr.  Marcus  L. 
Woodard,  who  was  one  of  the  parties  ill  treated,  and 
from  all  I  could  learn  at  Takow,  I  think  his  account  of 
the  affiiir  is  a  correct  one. 

During  my  stay  in  Formosa,  I  made  several  trips  into 
the  country,  and  Avas  always  kindly  treated.  On  the 
13th  of  August  last,  in  company  with  M.  Markwald, 
Esq.,  the  agent  of  Messrs.  Robinet  &  Co.,  I  visited  a 
Chinese  town  named  Pitow,  which  is  seven  miles  in  the 
interior  from  Keow.  Our  road  took  us  through  a  very 
beautiful  country.  On  all  sides  were  to  be  seen  luxuriant 
fields  of  rice  and  sugar  cane  ;  indigo  and  hemp  were  also 
to  be  seen  amongst  the  numerous  productions  of  the  fer- 
tile soil.  I  never  tired  admiring  the  beautiful  scenery, 
and  regretted  exceedingly  that  I  had  not  artistical  skill 
sufficient  to  sketch  the  picturesque  landscape  that  was 
presented  to  my  view.  We  traveled  in  sedan  chairs, 
carried  by  Chinese  coolies,  and  were  nearly  three  hours 
in  reaching  our  place  of  destination.  Pitow  is  a  walled 
town,  and  contains  about  seven  thousand  inhabitants. 
We  went  aU  throi;gh  it,  and  were  kindly  treated.  The 
people  crowded  around  us,  and  regarded  us  with  a  great 
deal  of  wonder,  but  their  curiosity  never  led  them  to  be 
rude.  They  are  very  timid,  much  more  so  than  any 
Chinese  I  have  yet  met  with. 

After  spending  a  few  hours  looking  about  the  city,  we 
took  up  our  lodgings  at  the  house  of  one  of  the  officials, 
who  treated  us  very  hospitably,  and  gave  us  a  Chinese 


THE     KEIGN      OF     TERROR.  507 

dinner.  Having  seen  all  that  was  interesting  in  Pitow,  we 
returned  to  Takow.  This  last-named  town  is  also  called 
Keow  by  some,  and  is  only  a  place  of  residence  of  fisher- 
men and  their  families.  Its  harbor  is  considered  the  best 
in  Formosa.  There  is  a  bar  at  the  entrance,  on  which, 
at  the  highest  tides,  there  are  twelve  feet  of  water,  and 
at  the  lowest,  nine  feet. 

The  entrance  to  the  port  is  very  narrow,  being  only 
about  two  hundred  feet  in  width.  On  the  10th  of  Sep- 
tember, Captain  Bovey,  of  the  English  bark  New  Mar- 
garet, very  kindly  invited  Mr.  Markwald  and  myself  to 
take  passage  in  his  ship  up  to  Ungpong,  the  sea-port  of 
Tayman-Ho,  the  capital  of  Formosa.  We  accepted  his 
invitation,  and  as  he  sailed  the  same  day  he  gave  us  his 
kind  offer,  we  immediately  went  on  board,  and  arrived 
the  next  day  off  our  destined  port,  but,  owing  to  very 
rough  weather,  we  did  not  land  until  five  days  after  our 
arrival. 

We  had  to  pass  through  a  very  heavy  surf  while  crossing 
tlie  bar,  upon  which  there  is  about  four  feet  of  water.  In 
crossing  the  bar  we  narrowly  escaped  capsizing,  being 
struck  with  a  heavy  roller.  After  getting  out  of  the 
breakers,  we  found  ourselves  in  a  small  bay,  with  very 
little  water,  the  whale-boat  in  which  we  were  frequently 
touching  the  ground.  After  a  pull  of  about  an  hour,  we 
entered  a  large  canal,  which  leads  up  to  the  city  of  Tay- 
raan-IIo.  At  this  point,  wc  exchanged  our  European 
boat  for  a  Chinese  sampan,  and  in  two  hours  we  were  in 
the  capital  of  Formosa.  At  the  entrance  of  the  canal  to 
which  I  have  alluded,  there  are  the  ruins  of  a  very  large 
fortification,  which  was  built  by  the  Dutch  during  the  time 
they  were  settled  on  the  island.  This  forlilication  must 
have  been  of  immense  strength,  as  those  walls  which  are 
now  standing  are  of  great  thickness,  and  a  deep  and  wide 
ditch  surrounds  it.     Below  the  fort  there  is  now  a  water 


508  IN     CHINA. 

battery,  upon  Avhich  fifty  guns  might  be  mounted,  but  at 
present  it  has  only  about  fifteen.  From  what  I  could  see 
of  them,  they  were  only  fit  to  frighten  Chinese  pirates, 
but  against  Europeans  they  would  not  be  very  eflicient. 
We  lived  in  the  suburbs  of  Tayman-Ho,  as  no  foreigners 
are  permitted  to  reside  in  the  city  proper,  w'hich  is  a 
walled  town,  but  its  walls  are  in  a  very  dilapidated  condi- 
tion, and  would  be  of  very  little  use  in  case  the  city  was 
attacked  by  any  civilized  nation.  We  remained  four 
days  at  our  hong,  and  were  always  treated  with  polite- 
ness. During  our  stay,  I  made  all  the  inquii'ies  in  my 
power  in  relation  to  persons  being  confined  on  the  island, 
but  learned  nothing.  After  fruitless  eflforts  to  enter  the 
walled  portion  of  the  town,  and  having  seen  all  that  was 
to  be  seen  in  that  part  of  the  town  in  which  we  had  taken 
up  our  quarters,  we  took  our  departure  on  the  18th  of 
September  for  Keow,  which  place  we  reached  the  same 
night,  at  nine  o'clock.  Our  mode  of  traveling  was  in 
sedan  chaii's,  which  was  by  no  means  so  pleasant  or  expe- 
ditious as  our  railroads  at  home.  We  passed  through  a 
country  very  much  like  that  I  have  described  in  my  visit 
to  Pitow.  The  population  is  very  dense,  as  the  Chinese 
only  occupy  the  plains,  while  the  aborigines  inhabit  the 
mountainous  j^arts  of  the  island.  Coal,  camphor,  and  sul- 
phur are  to  be  found  in  Formosa,  and  I  was  informed  that 
gold  was  also  to  be  obtained.  Camphor  appears  to  be 
very  abundant,  and  large  quantities  are  exported  from 
the  island.  I  have  not  been  able  to  visit  the  coal  mines, 
but  have  been  informed  by  those  who  have  visited  them, 
that,  with  proper  machinery,  they  could  be  worked  with 
great  success. 

In  my  communication  to  you  of  the  25th  ultimo,  I  in- 
formed you  I  would  remain  here  until  further  orders  from 
yourself,  but,  as  the  schooner  Carbon  leaves  here  in  a 
few  days  for  Takow,  and  wishing  not  to  be  too  long  ab- 


THE     HEAVENLY     PRINCE.  509 

sent  from  my  jDost,  I  have  determined  to  retuni  in  her, 
and  await  yonr  fm-ther  instructions. 
I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 
{Signed)  John  D.  Simms, 

Brevet  Captain  United  States  Marines. 

CoMMODOBE  James  Armstrong, 

Commanding  United  States  Naval  Forces, 

East  India  and  Cliina  Seas, 
United  States  Steam  Frigate  San  Jacinto, 
Hong  Kong. 

True  copy.  A.  Van  Den  Heuvel, 

Commodore's  Secretary. 


XXXVII. 

,THK    HEAVENLY    PRINCE. 

One  Sunday,  upon  returning  to  the  hospital,  I  was  in- 
formed that  the  Kev.  Mr.  Roberts,  a  Baptist  missionary, 
was  in  the  ward  among  the  sick,  where  he  had  been  upon 
a  former  occasion  during  my  absence. 

This  most  worthy  man  has  an  association  with  the  great 
rebellion  which  is  now  shaking  the  Chinese  empire,  from 
having  been  the  theological  instructor  of  Hung-Sew- 
Tseuen,  the  founder  of  this  rebellion. 

Mr,  Roberts  did  me  the  favor  to  stay  and  dine  Avith 
me.  .  In  the  course  of  our  conversation,  I  learned  that 
he  was  a  native  of  Tennessee,  but  brought  up  in  Ken- 
tucky. There  seemed  a  fitness  in  these  States  having  a 
relationship  to  the  wonderful  movement  of  jirogress  and 
reform  in  the  Chinese  empire. 

The  following  account  of  Hung-Sew-Tseuen  is  con- 
densed from  Meadows's  "  Chinese  and  their  Rebellions." 
In  a  note  the  author  remarks, 

"At  Nankin,  the   most  active  of  the  more  military 


510  IN     CHINA, 

leaders — the  ISTorthern  Prince,  who  liad  never  seen  any 
foreigner  until  I  found  hira  there,  spoke  to  me  about  Mr. 
Roberts  with  much  interest  and  respect,  merely  in  con- 
sequence of  the  account  which  had  been  given  him  by 
the  then  '  Heavenly  Prince,'  Hung-Sew-Tseuen," 

Hung-Sew-Tseuen  was  born  in  1813,  thirty  miles  north- 
east of  Canton.  His  father  being  a  poor  peasant,  he  early 
exhibited  such  intellectual  capacity,  that  his  family  ex- 
erted themselves  to  educate  him ;  and  as  he  advanced 
toward  manhood,  he  was  relieved  from  hard  manual  labor 
by  being  appointed  the  village  schoolmaster.  In  1833 
and  1837  he  made  imsuccessful  examinations  in  a  com- 
petition for  literary  degrees  in  the  city  of  Canton,  or,  as 
it  is  properly  called,  Knang-Chow-Foo.  At  the  last  of 
these  visits,  his  attention  was  attracted  by  a  Protestant 
missionary,  preaching  by  the  aid  of  an  interpreter  in  the 
streets  of  Canton.  At  the  same  time  he  received  from 
Leang-a-fah,  a  Chinese  friend,  who  had  been  converted 
to  Christianity,  a  number  of  tracts  which  had  been  com- 
posed by  himself,  consisting  of  essays  and  sermons,  with 
chapters  from  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  and  called 
"  Good  Words  for  Exhorting  the  Age." 

The  mental  and  physical  exhaustion  consequent  upon 
the  competition  at  the  literary  examinations  is  very  great, 
and  sometimes  terminates  in  death.  Hung-Sew-Tseuen 
was  very  ill  for  forty  days  after  his  failure  in  1837,  and 
during  this  illness  he  had  some  wonderful  dreams  or 
visions,  compounded  of  Buddhistic  and  Confucian  super- 
stitions, modified  by  the  twenty-first  chapter  of  Revela- 
tion, one  of  those  contained  in  Leang-a-fah's  tracts,  and 
which  Hung-Sew-Tseuen,  it  is  inferred,  had  glanced  at 
previous  to  this  illness.  After  his  recovery  he  returned 
to  his  duties  as  village  schoolmaster.  During  six  follow- 
ing years,  till  1843,  Leang-a-fah's  books  lay  unnoticed 
in    Hung-Sew-Tseuen's    book-case,  when    circumstances 


THE     HEAVENLY     PRINCE.  511 

brought  them  to  the  notice  of  Le,  a  friend  of  his.  They 
both  studied  the  tracts,  and  IIung-Sew-Tseuen  saw  in 
them  the  key  to  his  former  vision,  which  now  he  believed 
to  have  revealed  to  him  God — Jesus  Christ — idols  as  de- 
mons, and  the  people  of  the  world  as  brothers  and  sis- 
ters. He  and  Le  were  converted,  administering  the  rite 
of  baptism  to  themselves,  and  commenced  preaching. 

Hung-Sew-Tseuen  took  the  high  ground  that  he  was 
appointed  by  God  in  his  vision,  and  by  these  books,  to 
the  conversion  of  his  country  to  the  worshij)  of  the  true 
God — the  God  of  the  early  ages  of  China  for  the  Manchoo 
subjugation. 

His  first  converts  were  among  his  own  family  and  rel- 
atives and  village  schoolmasters.  One  of  these,  Fung- 
Yun-Sau,  was  the  most  zealous  and  important.  Finding 
themselves  abandoned  by  their  pupils,  Hung-Sew-Tseuen 
and  Fung-Yun-Sau  traveled  as  peddlers  of  ink  and  writ- 
ing brushes,  preaching  the  new  faith.  They  made  many 
converts;  but  after  a  few  months'  absence,  they  started 
at  separate  periods  of  time  to  return  to  their  native  prov- 
ince ;  but  Fung-Yun-Sau  on  the  way  engaged  himself 
among  a  gang  of  earth  carriers,  converted  some  of  them, 
with  their  employer,  who  employed  him  as  a  teacher. 
He  remained  several  years  in  the  neighborhood,  convert- 
ing families  and  tribes,  who  organized  themselves  under 
the  name  of  the  "  Society  of  God-worshipers."  "  It," 
says  Mr.  Meadows,  "  was  this  society  which  subsequently 
formed  the  strength  of  the  religious  political  rebellion  that 
now  shakes  the  imperial  tlirone,  though  in  its  founder, 
the  earth  carrier,  Fung-Yun-Sau,  I  believe  Ave  have  at 
once  the  most  zealous  and  the  most  disinterested  preacher 
of  the  new  faith  in  its  soberest  form." 

In  1847  IIung-Sew-Tseuen,  who  had  been  engaged  in 
various  religious  writings,  entered  himself  with  Mr. 
Roberts,  as  a  student  of  the  Bible.     Mr.  Roberts  says, 


512  INCHIXA. 

that  though  able  and  studious,  he  saw  nothiBg  in  him 
indicating  his  subsequent  remarkable  career.  After  two 
months'  study  he  left  Mr.  Roberts's  establishment,  this 
gentleman  having  reftised  to  receive  him  by  baptism,  be- 
cause he  at  the  same  time  applied  for  a  monthly  support, 
being  induced  to  this  by  the  persuasion  of  a  countryman 
in  the  same  establishment.  He,  however,  saw  the  reason- 
ableness of  Mr.  Roberts's  course,  and  has  since  spoken  of 
him  in  terms  of  respect  and  gratitude. 

Hung-Sew-Tseuen  declared,  "Too  much  patience  and 
humility  do  not  suit  our  present  times,  for  therewith  it 
would  be  impossible  to  manage  this  perverted  genera- 
tion." In  the  execution  of  this  sentiment  he  and  his  fol- 
lowers proceeded  to  the  violent  demolition  of  idols,  and 
were  first  brought  into  conflict  with  the  civil  power. 
Fung-Yun-Sau  was  imprisoned  ;  but  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment had  granted  freedom  of  Christian  worship  to  Chi- 
nese as  well  as  to  foreigners,  and  upon  this  plea  Hung 
Sew-Tseuen  intended  to  apply  for  the  liberation  of  his 
friend  and  colleague.  Fung-Yun-Sau,  however,  being  sent 
in  chai'ge  of  two  policemen  to  his  native  province,  con- 
verted them  on  the  way,  and  they  followed  him  to  the 
rendezvous  of  the  new  sect.  In  the  autumn  of  1850  the 
society  of  God-worshipers  came  into  conflict  with  the 
local  authorities,  and  at  once  assumed  the  attitude  of  po- 
litical rebellion. 

Events  transpiring  aboiit  this  period,  tended  to  bring 
about  this  wide  and  hostile  relation  to  the  Chinese  em- 
pire. In  1849  the  British  squadron  on  the  coast  of  China 
broke  up  a  large  number  of  pirates.  These  united  them- 
selves with  bands  of  bandit  rebels  in  the  province  of 
Kwang-se,  in  which  were  concentrated  the  society  of 
God-worshipers.  Hung-Sew-Tseuen,  being  compelled  to 
defend  himself  against  an  attempt  of  the  JMandarin  gov- 
ernment to  capture  him,  oi'ganized  all  these  robber  rebels 


THE     HEAVESTLY     P  R  I  :N' C  E  .  513 

under  his  standard,  and  placed  himself  iu  open  rebellion 
to  the  empire,  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  expelling  the 
Manchoo  dynasty  and  establishing  that  of  Tai-Ping,  or 
universal  peace.  It  is  not  our  object  in  this  book  to  fol- 
low the  various  and  wild  fortunes  of  the  rebels.  The  end, 
none,  according  to  the  means  of  human  judgment,  can  see. 
But  those  who  see  in  the  singular  circumstances  of  its 
origin  and  success  so  far,  and  in  the  leaven  of  good  prin- 
ciples it  carries,  the  finger  of  Providence,  have  no  doubt 
as  to  the  final  result,  and  the  advantages  it  is  in  time  to 
bring  to  China  and  the  world.  Having  made  a  triumph- 
ant progress  and  captured  many  imperial  cities,  with  sev- 
eral million  of  inhabitants,  in  March,  1853,  they  got  pos- 
session of  Nankin,  This  was  the  imperial  city  under  the 
Ming  dynasty,  and  was  now  again  made  so  by  the  insur- 
gents. At  the  time  of  its  capture  it  was  held  by  the 
hereditary  gai'rison  of  Tartar  banner-men,  which,  with 
their  families,  numbered  twenty  thousand.  All  these, 
men,  women  and  children,  were  destroyed ;  not  more 
than  one  hundred  escaping. 

The  view  which  will  be  taken  of  this  rebellion,  will  de- 
pend very  much  upon  the  political  and  religious  tend- 
encies of  those  to  whom  it  is  submitted  for  judgment. 

The  favorers  of  monarchical  governments,  and  the  oppo- 
nents of  progress,  are  naturally  disposed  to  censure  and 
condemn  any  popular  movement  opposed  to  an  existing 
government,  and  to  put  the  worst  construction  upon  all 
institutions  favoring  a  ])Opular  element.  The  subjects  of 
the  Queen  of  England  and  of  the  Emperor  of  France,  in 
China,  are,  by  political  prejudice,  opposed  to  the  rebel 
movement,  but  I  doubt  if  their  worst  ideas  of  the  Chi- 
nese rebellion  are  excelled  by  the  opinions  entertained  by 
much  of  Europe,  and  proclaimed  in  its  most  respectable 
press,  as  to  the  disorganization,  the  irreligion,  the  fanati- 
cism, the  ruffianism  of  the  gi'cat  American  democracy.     I 

22-- 


514  IN    CHINA. 

have  read  in  the  most  influential  English  journals  as  de- 
grading things  said  of  us  as  can  possibly  be  said  of  the 
Tai-Ping-Wang  movement. 

It  would  at  first  be  supposed  that  representatives  of 
the  great  American  democracy  in  China  would  entertain 
counter  views.  But  it  is  not  so.  These  gentlemen  zeal- 
ously represent  their  country  and  their  flag,  and  patriotic- 
ally stand  forth  in  their  defense,  in  all  circumstances  of 
rivalry  and  competition  with  other  powers.  But  they  do 
not  sympathize  with  the  masses  of  their  own  country. 
It  would  be  very  strange  if  they  did.  They  early  leave  a 
class  of  society  which  is,  in  social  position,  something  above 
the  popular  mass ;  and  they  are  not  apt  to  appreciate  the 
worth  and  political  intelligence  it  contains,  especially  as 
they  are  here  in  contact  with  what  they  consider  an  infe- 
rior and  degraded  race.  The  tone  of  society,  the  social  in- 
fluences among  which  they  here  reside,  and  to  which  they 
naturally  conform,  are  given  by  Euroj)eans,  and  are,  of 
course,  far  removed  from  any  popular  considerations  what- 
ever ;  hence  their  views  of  a  popular  movement  would 
coincide  with  the  very  men  with  whom  they  would  quarrel 
upon  an  abstract  question  of  political  principle. 

In  all  the  remote  regions  it  has  been  my  lot  to  visit,  I 
have  noticed  much  feeling  of  opposition  of  sentiment  on 
the  part  both  of  the  respectable  merchants  and  the  ad- 
venturers,  who  compose  the  American  and  European  resi- 
dents, towards  the  missionary  estabhshments — growing, 
with  some,  out  of  the  opposition  of  the  latter  to  the  license 
and  indulgence  of  the  former,  and  to  their  interference 
with  profitable  vices.  So  far,  thei*efore,  as  the  Tai-Ping- 
Wang  rebellion  is  supposed  to  have  any  connection  with 
missionary  influence,  it  comes  under  the  disparagement  of 
all  under  these  adverse  influences. 

Finally — as  the  rebels  denounce  opium-smoking,  they 
fall  under  the  condemnation  of  all  who  find  profit  in 


THE     HKAVENLY     PKINCE.  515 

opium-smuggling ;  and  this  is  the  source  of  much  of  the 
European  and  American  Chinese  fortunes. 

With,  therefore,  almost  all  testimony  against  one,  it 
seems  very  jDresumptuous  to  say  any  thing  in  favor  of  the 
rebels,  and  the  more  so,  that  I  believe  the  body  of  them 
to  be  made  vip  of  wild,  daring,  adventurous  scoundrels, 
and  of  fanatical  blasj^hemers ;  but  there  are  good,  honest, 
and  intelligent  men  among  them.  I  think  the  difference 
between  them  and  the  regular  imperial  government  of 
China  Ls,  that  the  latter  is  an  indurated  system  of  routine, 
corruption  and  rascality,  crystaUizdd  into  form,  from  which 
no  good  can  come,  save  by  its  destruction.  The  former, 
while  tending  to  chaos  and  confusion,  has  within  it  the 
divine  spark  which  shall  light  up  the  way  of  progress  and 
civilization  and  the  harmonious  institutions  of  Christianity. 

The  pure  truths  of  Christianity  themselves,  among  the 
most  intellectual  nations,  and  in  the  most  enlightened 
ages,  have  been  used  to  vitalize  absurdity,  fanaticism 
and  blasphemy.  How,  then,  can  any  such  truth  be  ex- 
pected to  be  found  unadulterated  among  a  nation  of  hun- 
dreds of  millions  of  arrogant  pagans  ?  More  especially, 
how  can  it  be  looked  for  in  the  wild  scenes  of  political 
commotion  in  which  races  are  warring  against  each  other, 
and  throughout  so  vast  an  empire  ambitious  and  unscru- 
pulous chiefs  are  striving  for  the  ascendency  over  an  ig- 
norant and  superstitious  people  ? 

For  but  a  limited  period  the  foreign  teachers  of  Chris- 
tianity have  been  laboring  at  a  few  points  on  the  re- 
motest edge  of  such  a  vast  empire.  If,  then,  w^hen  it  is 
heaving  in  political  convulsion,  and  threatening  to  shake 
down  its  age-fixed  throne  and  institutions,  one  spark, 
however  clouded,  of  Christian  truth,  is  found  in  the  move- 
ment of  disorganization,  I  think  it  should  be  viewed  as 
the  leaven  that  is  to  leaven  the  whole  lump,  as  at  least  a  rea- 
son for  hope  that  Providence  is  directing  it  to  wise  ends. 


516  INCHINA. 

There  are,  certainly,  avowed  principles  in  the  following 
formula  of  the  rebels,  which  must,  at  some  time,  sejjarate 
the  true  from  the  false. 

Among  the  rebel  articles  of  belief  are :  There  is  but 
one  God.  Idolatry  and  image-worship  condemned.  The 
Ten  Commandments  are  enjoined,  and  the  salvation  of 
sinners  by  the  death  of  Jesus  proclaimed.  Eternal  dam- 
nation to  the  wicked,  and  salvation  to  the  righteous. 
The  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity  are  recognized. 

PEATEE    FOR   THE   PENITENT. 

I,  thine  unworthy  ,  kneeling   down   upon  the 

ground,  with  a  time  heart  repent  of  my  sins,  and  pray 
thee,  the  great  God,  our  heavenly  Father,  of  thine  infi- 
nite goodness  and  mercy,  to  forgive  my  former  ignorance 
and  frequent  transgressions  of  the  divine  commands,  and 
earnestly  beseech  thee  of  thy  great  favor  to  pardon  all 
ray  former  sins,  and  enable  me  to  repent  and  lead  a  new 
life,  so  that  my  soul  may  ascend  to  heaven ;  may  I  from 
henceforth  sincerely  repent  and  forsake  my  evil  ways,  not 
worshiping  corrupt  spirits,  nor  practicing  perverse  things, 
but  obepug  the  divine  commands.  I  also  earnestly  pray 
thee,  the  great  God,  our  heavenly  Father,  constantly  to  be- 
stow on  me  thy  Holy  Spirit,  and  change  my  wicked  heart ; 
never  more  allow  me  to  be  deceived  by  wicked  demons, 
but  perpetually  regarding  me  with  favor,  forever  deliver 
me  from  the  evil  one  ;  and  every  day  bestowing  upon 
me  food  and  clothing,  exempt  me  from  calamity  and  woe, 
granting  me  tranquillity  in  the  present  world  and  the 
enjoyment  of  endless  happiness  in  heaven,  through  the 
merits  of  our  Saviour  and  heavenly  brother,  the  Lord 
Jesus,  who  redeemed  us  from  sin.  I  also  pray  the  great 
God,  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven,  that  His  will  may  be 
done  on  enrth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven.     That  thou  wouldst 


THE     HEAVENLY     PRIXCE.  517 

look  down  and  grant  this  luy  request  is  my  heart's  sincei'o 
desire. 

Ten  Important  Biil^s  to  be  observed  in  a  Regular  Camp. 

1.  Carefully  to  obsei've  the  celestial  regulations. 

2.  Make  yourselves  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
commands  of  heaven,  and  the  forms  of  worship,  with 
praise  and  thanksgiving,  to  be  used  every  morning  and 
evening,  as  well  as  the  orders  issued  by  the  sovereign. 

3.  Cultivate  good  morals ;  avoid  the  smoking  of  to- 
bacco and  the  drinking  of  wine ;  be  just  and  mild  ;  do 
not  conceal  offenses  nor  indulge  partialities,  nor  comply 
"with  inferiors  at  the  risk  of  disobeying  superiors. 

4.  With  united  heart  and  effort  obey  the  requisitions 
of  officers  ;  do  not  conceal  the  number  of  military  weap- 
ons, nor  hide  gold  and  silver  ornaments. 

5.  Observe  the  distinction  between  the  camp  of  the 
males  and  that  of  the  females  ;  let  not  men  or  women 
give  or  take  from  each  other's  hands. 

6.  Make  yourselves  familiar  with  the  signals  given  for 
the  assembling  of  troops,  by  means  of  the  gong,  horn  or 
drum,  whether  by  day  or  night. 

7.  Do  not,  without  necessity,  go  from  one  camp  or  le- 
gion to  another,  lest  you  should  throw  into  confusion  pub- 
lic arrangements. 

8.  Learn  correctly  the  proper  title  of  officers  and  the 
terms  to  be  used  in  addressing  them. 

9.  Let  your  arms  and  accoutrements  be  always  in  or- 
der, and  ready  for  immediate  service. 

10.  Do  not  falsify  the  laws  of  the  state  nor  the  regula- 
tions of  the  sovereign  ;  do  not  communicate  the  military 
signals  or  the  regimental  order. 

Shorter  and  better  than  our  articles  of  war. 

The  rebels  can  scarcely  make  things  worse  than  they 
are.  A  writer,  interested  in  maintaining  the  prestige  of 
monarchical  and  despotic  governments,  while  condemning 


518  IN     C  UIN  A  . 

the  rebellion,  says,  "  Yet  that  China  needs  reform  in 
every  shape,  particularly  in  her  government  of  the  peo- 
ple, can  not  admit  of  a  doubt.  Her  monarchical  authority 
is  trembling  ;  her  executive  is  everywhere  corrupt ;  her 
army  -weak  and  imbecUe,  and  her  administrative  boards 
throughout  the  country  thoroughly  rotten."* 


XXXVIII. 

COMMERCE,  CHRISTIANITY  AND  OPIUM. 

"  CoirMEECE"  is  one  of  those  kind  of  words  which  ap- 
pear in  dinner-table  sjieeches  and  popular  orations,  as  a 
sort  of  term  which  gives  nobility  to  any  kind  of  trash 
which  may  be  uttered — and  bold  must  the  man  be  theu 
w^ho  would  for  a  moment  think,  or  utter  the  sentiment, 
that  Commerce  might  be  a  susj)icious  character,  ought  to 
be  examined  into.  Commerce  has  gold  in  his  pocket,  and 
is  above  suspicion  so  long  as  he  has  it.  He  is  truly  a 
national  benefactor,  and  it  would  not  be  expedient  to  in- 
quire whether  sometimes  he  was  a  rascally  fellow  or  not, 
for  we  mean  to  have  his  benefit  whether  he  is  respect- 
able or  otherwise.  Christianity  sometimes  comes  in  along 
with  Commerce  on  these  festive  occasions,  and  Commerce 
knowing  that  Christianity  stands  pretty  well  in  public 
opinion,  is  very  willing,  for  form's  sake,  to  have  the  asso- 
ciation for  the  time  being. 

There  must,  however,  be  something  radically  wrong  in 
one  or  the  other  of  these  interests  and  facts,  for  when 
they  get  out  to  China  they  become  antagonistic,  and  it 
may  not  be  altogether  profitless  to  look  at  the  matter  and 
see  which  is  to  blame. 

*  Edinburgh  Review,  October,  1853. 


COMMERCE,     CHKISTIAIS^ITY     AND     OPIUM.    519 

In  the  early  day  the  East  India  Company  set  its  face 
against  Christianity,  and  a  clergyman  -syi-iting  upon  this 
suhject,  in  the  commencement  of  this  century,  says,  "  All 
our  governments  of  India  have  opposed  the  diiiusion  of 
the  knowledge  of  Christianity  among  the  natives." 

The  earlier  commercial  organizations  of  China  prohib- 
ited the  settlement  of  missionaries  wherever  they  had  ju- 
risdiction. A  writer  in  the  Edinburgh  Review,  for  1857 
(April),  and  one  who  has  a  knowledge  of  China,  has  bold- 
ly promulgated  the  idea  that  all  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  have  to  do  with  China  is  "  Commerce," 
and  that  it  is  a  great  mistake  in  any  way  to  associate 
Christianity  with  it.  This  writer,  it  is  true,  thinks  the 
opium  trade  as  bad  as  Christianity,  and  opposes  the  pro- 
tection of  either. 

"  A  colonial  official  of  Hong  Kong,  in  alluding  to  one  ot 
the  measures  of  policy  adopted  by  the  colony,  says,  '  It 
has  already  added  to  and  tends  to  increase  the  coasting 
trade  in  goods,  the  manufactures  of  Great  Britain  or  the 
produce  of  India,  such  as  cotton,  opium,  etc.  Here  there 
is  an  unequivocal  recognition,  on  the  part  of  the  British 
authorities,  of  the  opium  traffic.  A  certain  measure  is 
recommended,  because  conducive  to  its  increase.  Our 
government  has  endeavored  to  evade  responsibility,  and 
to  place  the  opium  traffic  entirely  to  the  account  of  pri- 
vate merchants,  with  whom  our  authorities  allege  they 
are  not  bound  to  interfere.  But  here  we  have  our  gov- 
ernment adopting  measures  avowedly  calculated  to  en- 
courage and  increase  a  traffic  which  contravenes  the  laws 
of  a  friendly  power,  with  whom,  at  the  time,  we  were  at 
peace.     Is  there  in  tliis  no  provocation  ?'  " 

The  worthy  Bishop  of  Victoria,  in  a  speech  at  Man- 
chester, England,  on  the  subject  of  opium  smuggling, 
says, 

"There  was  another  reason  why  he  wished  to  see  a 


.520  IN     CHINA, 

termination  to  our  national  connection  with  opium  smug- 
gling, for  he  believed  not  a  few  members  of  his  flock,  and 
personal  friends  in  China,  men  of  benevolent  disposition 
and  of  the  highest  respectability  in  the  private  intercourse 
of  social  life,  were  implicated  in  this  system,  against  their 
better  convictions,  and  were  almost  involuntary  jjartici- 
pators  in  the  contraband  traflic.  He  desired  to  see  a  ter- 
mination to  the  temptation  in  the  way  of  English  mer- 
chants." 

It  would  certainly  be  well  to  remove  the  temptation  from 
the  way  of  EugUsh  merchants,  if  not  for  their  sakes,  for 
that  of  the  people  they  poison.  True,  the  English  mer- 
chant should  not  let  his  interest  lead  him  into  the  sin. 
Let  him  give  up  the  dollars  and  he  gives  up  the  crime. 
There  may  be  English  merchants  who  do  so  ;  there  are 
American  houses  which  do,  and  some  which  do  not. 

Here  then  we  have  certainly  a  pi'actical  exemplification 
of  "  good  for  evil."  We  see  Commerce  repudiating  Chris- 
tianity, and  Christianity  kindly  mitigating  the  rascaUty 
of  Commerce  ;  asking  that  temptation  may  be  taken  out 
of  its  way,  that  it  may  be  more  honest  and  upright. 

It  may  well  be  doubted  whether  the  conscience  that 
can  accumulate  money  and  build  palaces  upon  the  opium 
trade,  has  suj)port  enough  of  jmuciple  to  resist  any 
advantageous  money  transaction.  It  certainly  owns  no 
subjection  to,  or  deference  for,  the  laws  of  God  or  man. 
It's  a  terrible  trade.  Only  a  dim  speck  of  the  dark  cloud 
has  passed  before  my  eyes,  only  the  outer  shore  ripple  of 
an  ocean  of  wretchedness ;  and  God  forbid  I  should  ever 
see  out  on  its  broad  surface. 

Let  us  hearken  a  moment  to  those  murmurings  of 
agony  which  do  reach  us. 

An  old  Chmese  resident  dining  with  me  fixed  his  eyes 
intently  upon  the  very  intelligent  boy  who  was  waiting 
at  my  table,  and  as  soon  as  the  boy  left  the  room  he 


COilMEECE,     CHKISTIAKITT     AND     OPIUM.  521 

remarked  earnestly,  "  That  boy  is  an  opium  smoker !"  "  I 
fear  it."  "  You  must,  of  course,  get  rid  of  him,  you 
do  n't  know  how  to  trust  him  a  moment ;  he'll  rob  you, 
sooner  or  later." 

The  boy  spoke  very  good  English,  and  only  a  few  days 
before  this  I  had  talked  to  him  upon  the  subject.  He 
denied  it  out  and  out,  and  bursting  into  tears,  said  he 
had  too  unhappy  a  warning  in  his  father,  who  died  of 
opium  smoking  at  an  early  age.  And  yet  this  boy  did 
smoke  ojDium  nightly ;  he  ended  by  thieving  and  running 
away.  His  intelligence,  his  acquaintance  with  EngUsh 
and  accounts,  would  have  made  him  valuable,  and  always 
have  secured  him  good  employment.  As  another  illus- 
tration coming  under  my  own  knowledge,  a  respectable 
Chinese  mechanic  came  to  me  several  times,  or  rather 
incidentally,  in  conversation  upon  other  subjects,  asked 
me  for  some  remedy  for  opium  smoking,  for  a  friend  of 
his.  His  friend  had  tried  all  the  Chinese  remedies  in 
vain.  I  suspected,  from  his  emaciated  and  haggard  ap- 
pearance, that  he  was  himself  the  victim.  I  told  him  I 
could  give  him  no  remedy,  and  finally  he  came  to  me  in 
the  greatest  distress,  said  he  was  the  man,  and  must  have 
some  medicine  to  cure  him,  as,  to  use  his  homely  but 
expressive  language,  "  his  wife  made  such  a  bobbery  he 
could  not  live."  I  could  do  nothing  for  him,  and  have 
not  seen  him  since. 

From  Singapore  to  Shanghae  I  have  been  in  those 
wretched  dens,  the  02:)ium  shops — I  doubt  if  the  opium 
merchants  have  been  or  dare  go — and  shall  never  ibrget 
the  scenes  presented  to  me. 

I  will  present  only  an  illustration  or  two,  but  as  these 
shops  were  so  numerous,  just  as  groggeries  in  our  own 
degraded  city  localities,  my  lifting  a  single  curtain  ailbrds 
a  view  of  the  broad  extent  of  the  vice. 

You  lift  the  dark  and  dirty  blue  curtain  which  swings 


522  INCHINA. 

at  the  door,  and  enter  a  gloomy,  dingy  room,  along 
which  arc  soiled  mat-covered  couches.  On  these  couches 
are  lying  the  victims,  often  two  on  a  couch,  with  the 
smoky  opium  lamp  between  them.  The  black  mass,  like 
a  paste,  is  dipped  by  a  wire  from  its  receptacle  and  pushed 
into  the  narrow  tube  of  the  pipe.  This  is  now  held  over 
the  lamp ;  it  fumes  and  bubbles  while  the  smoker  draws 
two  or  three  inhalations,  passes  his  hand  over  his  brow, 
and  gazes  intently  upon  some  ecstatic  vision  in  the  dim 
air,  often  at  the  same  time  spreading  his  lips  to  a  smile  as 
ghastly  as  his  gaze — the  gaze  and  smile  of  a  skeleton.  The 
eyes  are  deep  sunk  in  their  sockets — the  skin  drawn 
tightly  over  the  cheek  bones,  and  the  ribs  stand  out  in 
bony  curves.  Emaciation  in  an  old  opium  smoker  seems 
to  have  reached  the  extreme  tenuity  compatible  with 
existence.  Such  are  the  shop  scenes.  Shall  we  take 
them  as  the  interpreters  of  unseen  domestic  woes — a  daily 
path  of  horror  which  often  ends  in  selUug  wife  and 
daughter  for  the  drug?  Most  of  the  opium  smokers  I 
saw  in  the  shops,  were  in  the  physical  condition  I  have 
attempted  to  describe,  but  upon  one  occasion  I  saw  two 
youths,  not  over  eighteen  years  of  age,  genteely  dressed, 
and  whose  cheeks  and  forms  had  not  lost  the  rotundity 
of  their  time  of  life.  These,  with  hope  and  life  before 
them,  voluntarily  entering  a  road  of  certain  destruction, 
were  a  more  melancholy  spectacle  than  those  who  were  at 
the  close  of  their  unhappy  career. 

In  these  dens  we  only  saw  the  opium  smoking  of  the 
lowest  classes.  The  upper  classes  have  their  private 
smoking  apartments  and  luxurious  couches.  There  were 
few  of  the  respectable  tradesmen,  artists,  etc.,  with  whom 
I  had  dealings  in  their  houses,  but  had  some  one  or  more 
members  of  their  establishment  addicted  to  this  terrible 
vice,  the  faint,  sickening  odor  of  the  drug  pervading  the 
atmosphere  of  their  houses;  and  often  in  a  partitioned 


COMMERCE,     CHRISTIANITY     AND     OPIUM.    523 

cell  of  some  dark  corner,  the  glimmer  of  an  opium  lamp 
just  served  to  show  the  recumbent  form  of  the  victim 
beside  it.  Such,  however,  is  the  benumbing  influence  of 
the  vice,  that  its  essential  nature — the  question  as  to 
whether  opium  smoking  is  a  vice  or  a  virtue — in  the 
reasonings  of  Chinese  foreign  commerce,  seems  to  depend 
upon  the  extent  to  which  it  prevails.  The  advocates  of 
the  innocuous  nature  of  opium  smoking— who  would  almost 
elevate  it  to  the  rank  of  a  virtue — contend  that  the 
largest  number  addicted  to  it  is  from  two  to  three  millions. 

Dr.  Hobson,  a  medical  missionary  then  at  Canton, 
makes  the  following  estimate  : 

"  Allowing  the  consumption  of  68,000  chests,  at  one 
mace  a  day  (one  mace  is  equal  to  fifty-eight  grains),  it 
will  not  exceed  2,500,000.  Many  take  less  than  one  mace 
a  day,  but  othei's,  again,  consume  two,  four,  six,  and  even 
eight  mace  a  day  (the  latter  quantity  being  equal  to  three 
hundred  grains  of  the  present  opium).  Native  opium, 
obtained  principally  from  the  province  of  Yun-nan,  in  the 
south  of  China,  is  also  used,  and  must  add  to  the  2,500,000 
named  above." 

As  to  the  mortality  arising  from  its  use,  the  conclusions 
Dr.  Hobson  arrives  at  are  as  follows  : 

"  1.  That  the  mortality  from  opium  is  not  so  great  as 
is  generally  supposed,  and  certainly  not  at  the  enormous 
rate  of  1,000,000  a  year,  even  supposing  that  20,000,000 
took  it.  He  could  not  give  the  proportion  of  deaths, 
because  there  are  no  data  or  statistics  on  which  to  make 
the  calculation. 

"  2.  That  opium  is  probably  more  seductive  and  tena- 
cious in  its  grasp  than  alcohol ;  and  he  should  certainly 
affirm  that  it  was  not  so  frequently  fatal  to  life,  nor  so 
fruitful  of  disease  and  crime,  as  is  the  case  with  intoxicat- 
ing drink  in  Great  IJritain." 

Again,  a  Mr.  Lay,  who  was  at  one  time  an  agent  of  the 


5'24  IN     CHINA. 

British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  says,  in  regard  to 
opium : 

"  In  China,  the  spendthrift,  the  man  of  lewd  habits,  the 
drunkard,  and  a  large  assortment  of  bad  characters,  slide 
into  the  opium  smoker ;  hence  the  drug  seems  to  be 
chargeable  with  all  the  vices  of  the  country.  Opium, 
doubtless,  has  her  victims  in  persons  who,  but  for  her  fas- 
cinating lures,  might  have  escaped  their  ruin  ;  but,  in  the 
great  majority  of  instances,  she  only  adds  one  stain  more 
to  a  character  already  polluted.  Investigations  and  some 
statistics  may  throw  light  upon  the  subject,  and  show,  in 
some  measure,  how  far  the  use  of  the  drug  has  been  the 
principal,  and  not  the  accomplice  only,  in  the  undoing  of 
individuals.  Many  use  it  '  in  moderation,''  and  are  suffi- 
ciently masters  of  themselves  to  keep  on  the  right  side  of 
slavery.  But  it  is  a  subtle  and  traitorous  inmate,  and  no 
one  who  has  ever  felt  the  exhilarating  effects  of  it,  is  sure 
that  he  will  not  one  day  fall  a  prey  to  its  delusions." 

Speaking  of  the  degraded  appearance  of  a  confirmed 
oj)ium  smoker,  he  says  : 

"  Such  sights,  however,  are  not  very  common,  for  the 
misei'able  beings  generally  hide  themselves  from  public 
view,  so  that,  amidst  many  thousands  of  healthy  and 
happy  faces,  we  only  see  here  and  there  one  of  these  prod- 
igies of  evil  habit." 

Quoting  the  above,  a  newspaper  exponent,  of  opium 
tone,  in  China,  defends  opium  upon  the  ground  that  there 
may  be  worse  vices,  and  reaches  the  conclusion  that  it  is 
a  necessity : 

"  Ten  dollars  a  piece  from  two  and  a  half  millions  will 
pay  for  about  all  the  opium  imported  into  China  in  a  year. 
How  many  are  there  in  the  countries  of  the  heaviest  of 
the  opium  denouncers,  who  spend  their  ten  dollars  a 
iceeh  in  that  ten  times  Avorse  than  opium  smoking — dram 
drinking.     Such  is  the  sluggish  nature  of  their  food,  that, 


COMMERCE,     CHRISTIANITY     AND     OPIUM.    525 

with  many  Chinese,  opium  is  a  necessity  to  stimulate 
digestion."* 

All  that  seems  to  be  positively  known  is,  that  opium 
smoking  is  a  great  evil,  and  an  extending  one,  ruinous  to 
the  happiness  and  morals  of  a  population,  only  small  be- 
cause measured  by  that  of  nearly  a  half  of  the  population 
of  the  globe.  It  is  equally  evident  that  it  is  a  profitable 
commercial  vice,  and  hence  an  honorable  one.  It  keeps 
up  lines  of  expensive  private  steamers  between  India  and 
China,  supported  by  the  difference  of  rise  and  fall  in 
opium  from  day  to  day.  It  is  not  only  a  vice  from  its 
material,  physical  and  moral  effects  upon  the  human  frame, 
but  it  is  a  great  gambhng  excitement.  Opium  commerce 
is  but  betting  upon  the  change  of  price  with  each  arrival 
from  India,  the  chests  never  changing  hands. 

The  importation  of  opium  into  China  is  but  one  element 
by  which  to  measure  the  amount  of  it  consumed.  No 
one  knows  the  extent  of  domestic  cultivation.  Most  of 
the  palatial  English,  American,  and  Parsee  houses  belong- 
ing to  the  same  firms,  in  the  five  consular  ports,  are  built 
upon  this  trade.  No  amount  of  percentage  upon  the 
regular  silk  and  tea,  brokerage  they  profess  to  do,  could 
keep  up  these  magnificent  establishments,  and  retire,  as 
they  do,  a  partner  every  three  or  four  years,  with  an  in- 
dependent fortune.  They  all  have,  in  defiance  of  Cliincse 
law,  their  smuggling  receiving  ships,  most  of  them,  it  is 
some  consolation  to  know,  under  any  flag  but  the  Amer- 
ican, but  I  am  sorry  to  say,  it  flies  over  an  opium  receiving 
ship  of  our  countrymen  in  China,  although  the  owners, 
individually,  are  entitled  to  all  the  commendation  be- 
stowed by  his  lordship  the  Bishop .  of  Victoria,  upon  his 
own  i-espectablc  flock.      Yet,  the   United  States  treaty 

*  As  this  writer  contends  for  the  small  number  of  Cliinoso  who  nso 
opium,  what  becomes  of  iiis  argument  of  necessity  fur  the  hundroda  of 
millions  who  get  along  with  tlieir  digestion  witliout  opium? 


52G  IN    CHINA. 

with  China  says  our  flag  shall  have  no  connection  with 
this  traflic. 

One  cnrious  argument  of  the  friends  of  opiura  is,  "It  is 
no  use  for  us  to  be  so  virtuous  upon  this  subject,  as  the 
Chinese  authorities  themselves  are  so  loose."  Tlie  result 
of  such  reasoning  in  morals  any  one  may  estimate,  if  car- 
ried out  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  I  suspect  tliat  moral- 
ity and  religion  in  the  Chinese  trade  are  regarded,  as 
Wellington  is  reported  to  have  said  of  them  in  military  life, 
very  much  out  of  place.  Havelock  and  others  have  dis- 
proved the  old  chieftain's  maxim,  and  there  is  hope  for 
eastern  commerce. 

The  fact  is,  the  Chinese  must  wink  instead  of  kick  at 
the  violation  of  their  laws,  if,  according  to  the  practical 
maxim  of  St,  Paul,  it  is  hard  to  kick  against  the  pricks. 

"  On  the  23d  of  August,  1844,  Mr.  Davis  transmitted 
to  Aberdeen  another  communication  from  the  imperial 
commissioner,  in  which  he  declared  his  fear  of  the  conse- 
quence to  himself,  should  he  propose  to  the  emperor  any 
measure  involving  the  legalization  of  opium,  and  plainly 
intimating  that  the  opium  trade  should  be  carried  on  by 
mutual  connivance."* 

Suppose  for  a  moment  the  Chinese  were  to  capture  all 
those  o^Dium  ships  lying  under  European  and  American 
flags,  in  the  Woosuug  and  Canton  rivers,  what  would  be 
the  result  ?     History  has  ah-eady  answered  that  question. 

The  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  presented  to  the  British  author- 
ities a  memorial  upon  the  Chinese  import  of  opium,  which 
contains  the  following  charges  : 

"  1st.  That  the  oj^ium  trade  on  the  coast  of  China  is, 
with  scarce  an  exception,  carried  on  under  English  colors 
and  by  British  subjects.  2dly.  That  it  is  attended  with 
a  more  appalling  mortality  than  in  the  case  of  the  slave 

*  Papers  relative  to  the  opium  trade  in  China,  presented  to  the 
House  of  Lords. 


COMMERCE,     CHRISTIANITY    AND     OPIUM.    527 

trade.  3dly.  That  it  is  dishonoring  to  God  and  to  the 
character  of  our  nation.  4thly.  That  it  is  prejudicial  to 
the  commercial  interests  of  Great  Britain.  And  5thly. 
That  frightfully  aggravated  results  must  follow  the  great 
and  somewhat  recent  extension  of  that  traffic,  together 
with  the  fact  that  her  Majesty's  plenipotentiary  in  China, 
only  a  short  time  since,  induced  the  King  of  Siam  to  ad- 
mit opium  to  be  imported  hy  British  subjects  into  that 
country  free  of  duty." 

In  reply  to  these  charges  it  was  answered  : 
"  With  respect  to  the  last  of  these  points,  Sir  J.  Bow- 
ring  stated  that  so  far  from  having  induced  the  King  of 
Siam  to  admit  the  importation  of  opium  free  of  duty,  he 
stipulated  for  the  exclusion  of  opium  from  the  general 
operation  of  the  free-trade  system  which  his  treaty  estab- 
lished. British  subjects  are  not  allowed  to  import  opium 
into  Siam  free  of  duty,  the  importation  being  placed 
under  separate  and  severe  restrictions  by  confining  its  in- 
troduction and  sale  to  the  Chinese  farmers  of  the  opium 
revenue.  ...  It  was  a  matter  of  general  notoriety 
that  many  of  the  principal  American  houses  dealt  largely 
in  opium,  and  that  the  flag  of  the  United  States  was  un- 
furled at  the  opium  stations  over  American  ships  with 
American  registers.  .  .  .  As  to  the  religious  bear- 
ings of  the  opium  question,  and  the  paralyzation  of  mis- 
sionary eiforts  consequent  upon  the  trade,  Sir  John  Bow- 
ring's  opinion  Avas,  that  the  small  success  of  missionary 
efforts  in  China  was  traceable  to  other  causes  than  the 
opium  trade." 

The  opinions  of  Sir  John  Bo  wring  upon  that  or  any 
other  subject  are  entitled  to  the  respect  due  his  ability 
and  opportunities  of  observation,  and  at  the  same  time 
are  to  be  taken  with  that  grain  of  allowance  which  must 
be  made  for  all  men  who  ar<j  interested  in  the  matter 
submitted  to  their  judgment.     It  must  be  remembered 


528  IN     CHINA. 

that  Sir  John  is  the  governor  of  an  oi:)ium-founded,  opium- 
breathing,  and  opium-supported  colony.  The  deadening, 
benumbing,  sensual  influence  of  the  drug  seems  to  have 
pervaded  the  moral  atmosphere,  and  brought  it  to  such  a 
condition  that  nurtures  expedient  vices  as  the  substitute 
for  virtuous  principles,  as  is  seen  in  a  recent  ordinance 
of  the  colony  legitimating  licentiousness  as  an  appropriate 
means  of  revenue. 

"  A  new  ordinance — the  last  specimen  of  legislation 
which  we  have  been  favored  with — certainly  caps  all  for- 
mer attempts.  The  plain  English  of  it  is,  that  it  is  an  ordi- 
nance for  obtaining  an  increase  of  the  colonial  revenue 
by  encouraging  and  jDrotecting  prostitution." —  Overland 
Hegister,  December  16,  1857. 

Irrespective  of  its  morality,  of  its  infringement  of  the 
laws  of  China,  its  respectability  must  bear  up  the  crime 
of  smuggling  to  that  level.  "  There  is  no  article  in  the 
treaty  with  China  prohibiting  the  importation  of  opium, 
or  making  its  introduction  an  ofiense  under  British  law. 
In  the  absence  of  any  interdiction  in  the  treaty,  opium 
stands  among  the  articles  unenumerated  in  the  tariff,  on 
which  articles  a  duty  of  five  per  cent,  is  leviable  ;  that  five 
per  cent.,  under  any  circumstances,  is  due  to  the  Chinese 
treasury,  and  inasmuch  as  this  duty  is  not  paid,  there  is  a 
clear  infraction  of  the  treaty."* 

The  general  commercial  sentiment  in  China  seems  to 
be,  not  to  get  rid  of  the  vice,  but,  as  in  the  case  of  li- 
centiousness, to  legitimate  and  make  it  profitable.  The 
honorable,  philanthropic,  just  and  Christian  sentiment  is, 
to  aid  the  effort  of  the  Chinese  authorities  to  suppress  the 
vice  and  to  punish  the  opium  smuggler,  as  the  law  does 
the  poor  wretch  who  by  night  steals  brandy  and  tobacco 

*  Papers  relating  to  the  opium  trade  in  China,  presented  to  the  House 
of  Lords. 


GETTING      ox.  529 

into  England.  But  in  China  commevce  and  opium  are 
supreme,  and  liave  their  diseased,  elephant-legged  foot 
upon  Clnistiauity. 


XXXIX. 

GETTING     ON 


"  That's  the  way  we  get  on,  you  know,"  said  Captain 
Forsyth,  of  her  Majesty's  ship  Hornet,  to  me,  as  I  met 
him  on  the  Bund  in  Shanghae,  just  as  we  heard  of  the 
English  troubles  in  Canton.  "  I  am  very  anxious  to  be 
there,  because  that 's  the  way  w^e  get  on." 

And  I  am  veiy  glad  to  say  he  was  there,  and  did  get 
on,  for  most  eminently  had  he  earned  and  deserved  it. 

"  The  Gazette  promotions  for  late  afiairs  in  China  will 
be  hailed  by  the  service  with  unanimous  approbation,  and 
the  Board  of  Admiralty  will  gain  no  small  share  of  com- 
mendation for  their  speedy  acknowledgment  of  the  dis- 
tinguished services  rendered  by  Cajotains  Forsyth,  Cor- 
bett,  Rolland,  Tumour,  etc.  This  reward,  following  so 
quickly  upon  an  official  report  of  services  that  deserve  it, 
is  trebly  welcome  to  the  recipients,  whilst  it  offers  a  spur 
to  emulation  that  is  of  incalculable  value  to  the  country. 

"  In  the  selection  for  these  promotions  Captain  Forsyth's 
name  stands  most  fairly  at  the  head  of  the  hst,  not  only 
on  account  of  his  seniority,  but  in  consideration  of  his  re- 
peated acts  of  daring  gallantry.  Of  his  services  in  former 
grades  our  columns  have  given  frequent  notices.  He 
earned  his  lieutenant's  rank  by  hard  work  at  mai-ine  sur- 
veying, and  he  won  liis  coramnnder's  commission  by  most 
important  services  in  tlie  same  branch,  and  by  his  able, 
zealous,  an^  skillful  arrangements  in  supplying  the  Brit- 
ish army  with  provisions  during  the  Kaffir  war.     Wo  may 

23 


530  IN     CHINA. 

mill  that  Captain  Forsyth  is  a  child  of  the  service,  and 
not  an  officer  of  interest.  He  lias  achieved  his  position 
solely  by  distinguished  merit,  the  appreciation  of  which 
by  the  Board  of  Admiralty  reflects  credit  on  their  lord- 
ships. 

"  Captain  Corbett,  of  the  Inflexible  (6),  steam  sloop, 
has  made  short  steps  to  that  promotion  which  he  richly 
deserved,  had  he  not  had  an  opportunity  of  again  distin- 
guishing himself  It  is  sufiicient  to  say  of  him  that  he  is 
the  officer  who  performed  one  of  the  coolest  acts  of  dar- 
ing on  record  as  a  lieutenant.  He  was  at  the  bloody  fight 
at  Lagos,  under  Admiral  Bruce  ;  and  it  was  he  who  volun- 
teered, under  the  most  deadly  fire,  to  unshackle  the  cable 
of  the  Teazer,  we  believe,  and  thus  save  those  on  board 
from  severe  sufifering.  He  succeeded,  but  escaped  almost 
certain  destruction,  with  four  or  five  musket-balls  in  his 
body  and  a  broken  arm.  This  deed  of  daring  gave  him 
his  commandership  and  a  pension  for  wounds.  For  hij 
new  claims  upon  the  country  he  has  received  the  most 
gratifying  installment  by  advancement  to  that  senior  rank 
in  which  we  trust  he  will  have  further  opportunities  of 
showing  to  the  world  that  the  young  blood  of  the  navy  is 
not  inferior  to  that  of  the  heroes  of  old."* 

And  thus,  during  our  whole  year  in  China,  from  the 
time  of  our  own  short,  shai*p,  decisive  actions,  to  the 
capture  by  the  English  of  Canton,  we  had  the  gratifica- 
tion of  seeing  our  English  friends  "  made,"  after  the  in- 
telligence of  these  deeds  reached  home.  Promotion  to 
higher  rank — promotion  which  carried  some  home,  and 
gave  their  places  to  rejoicmg  new  men,  was  a  cheering, 
hopeful  promotion  ;  and  not  as  with  us  a  desponding  look 
upon  the  coffins  of  our  friends  and  companions.  No  mat- 
ter though  the  whole  British  nation  was  in  division  as  to 

*  London  Morning  Herald,  13th  August,  1857. 


GETTING     ON.  531 

whether  the  Chinese  war  was  a  just  one,  those  who  were 
maintaining  the  honor  of  their  flag  had  the  impulse  of 
direct,  personal,  individual  hope  to  cheer  them  on. 

Chinese  shot  killed  those  it  hit  as  dead  as  though  they 
had  been  fired  by  Russian  or  Frenchman,  and  therefore 
those  who  ran  the  risk  were  entitled  to  their  reward. 

What  a  contrast  with  the  expectation  and  hopes  of  the 
officers  of  our  own  squadron  !  In  boats  and  ships  we  had 
been  fired  upon  to  death  by  Chinese  forts,  and  had  vindi- 
cated the  honor  of  our  flag,  and  yet  avoided  a  continuous 
war.  Although  no  other  honorable  or  creditable  course 
of  duty  was  open  to  us,  yet  the  first  feeling  Avas  that  of 
uncertainty  as  to  whether  the  action  of  the  squadron 
would  be  ajiproved  or  disapproved.  If  the  latter,  the 
consolation  was  in  the  consciousness  of  having  done  a 
duty  which  could  not  be  left  imdone  ;  if  the  former,  the 
best  hope  was  that  of  a  formal  ofticial  approval,  which 
came,  was  read,  listened  to,  buried  amid  the  records  of 
the  squadron  and  Department,  and  brought  advantage  to 
none. 

It  has  been  said  that  a  Frenchman's  motive  of  action  is 
glory ;  an  Englishman's,  duty.  The  American  must  be 
yet  further  removed  above  the  inferior  impulses  of  hu- 
manity, and  expected  to  do  liis  best  deeds  under  the 
chance  of  censure,  and  without  the  hope  of  reward. 

Whatever  may  be  the  national  characteristics  in  this 
respect,  it  would  be  only  very  human,  though  perhaps 
not  angelic,  that  individual,  as  well  as  national  glory, 
should  be  an  incentive  in  the  military  service  of  any  race. 
The  abiding,  enduring  spirit,  may  be  that  of  duty ;  the 
active,  enthusiastic,  "  go  in  and  win"  spirit,  must  bo  that 
of  glory,  and  if  we  are  to  have  a  military  service,  with  all 
the  incentives  to  active  efticiency,  it  would  seem  to  be 
only  reasonable  to  present  it  with  those  which  human  na- 
ture acknowledges. 


532  IN    CHINA. 

There  are,  it  must  be  admitted,  difficulties  about  the 
subject,  as  military  reputations  are  sometimes,  like  pat- 
ent medicines  and  slop-shop  clothing,  made  prominent  by 
quackery.  Still,  it  does  not  appear  impossible  to  devise 
a  system  by  which  those  who  clearly  and  definitely  risk 
their  lives  in  battles  or  exploits  of  unusual  hazard,  under 
orders  to  do  so,  shall  win  some  special  conmendation  or 
reward  independent  of  political  influences,  or  the  aj^proval 
or  disapproval  by  an  existing  administration  of  the  orders 
under  which  they  acted.  I  think  it  can  be  done.  "  A 
navy  reputation  is  at  best  but  a  four  years'  reputation," 
sententiously  said  one  of  those  who  sufiered  by  the  decis- 
ions of  the  Retiring  Board.  This  man  remembered  the 
days  of  his  youth,  when  he  felt  impulses  to  have  a  good 
name  with  the  Department,  and  thought  he  was  laying  up 
a  capital  of  that  kind.  But  he  lived  long  enough  to  find 
there  is  no  cumulative  rej^utation.  A  young  officer,  when 
he  first  wins  favor  at  the  Department  by  meritorious  deeds 
is  stimulated  to  go  on  and  increase  his  stock  of  reputation, 
but  he  becomes  disheartened  Avhen  he  finds  that  every 
four  years  he  must  be  successfully  interpreting  new  dreams 
for  new  Pharaohs,  and  at  last  depends  for  the  smallest 
rights  upon  court  intrigues,  and  the  good  will  of  the  chief 
butlers.  The  older  he  gets,  and  the  less  disposed  to  sit 
at  the  chief  butler's  table,  the  less  consideration  he  meets. 
The  distinguished  gentlemen  who  are  called  to  the  hon- 
orable position  of  presiding  over  the  N"avy  Department  and 
the  Navy,  have  a  responsible,  arduous  and  intricate  charge. 
They  have  not  only  the  control  of  goveriimental  posses- 
sions and  interests,  but  of  an  organized  body  of  men — a 
state  within  itself — with  its  own  internal  usages  and  pol- 
ity, and  dissentient  politics.  Among  these  he  is  called  to 
be  lawgiver  and  judge,  and  is  so  circumstanced  that  he 
can  not  hear  the  voice  of  the  Navy  but  as  it  is  interpreted 
by  few  and  interested  parties.     Principles  lie  latent  and 


GETTING     ON.  633 

dormant  around  him,  as  they  do  in  nature  around  all  of 
lis,  but  only  the  instructed  art  of  the  scientific  hand  can 
develop  them  into  vitality  and  activity ;  and  a  life-time  is 
necessary  to  acquire  the  art.  Hence  arises  a  discourag- 
ing supposition — ^perphaps  a  necessity,  that  the  rights,  in- 
terests, fortunes  of  the  members  of  the  naval  body,  are 
much  at  the  control  of  the  subordinate  and  more  perma- 
nent residents  of  the  Department. 

An  estimable  friend  and  distinguished  naval  captain, 
whose  merits  and  position  should  have  secured  him  every 
right,  once  said  to  me,  "  I  am  entitled  to  so  and  so,  and 
want  it ;  I  have  never  gone  below  the  head  of  the  Depart- 
ment for  any  claim  ;  shall  I  do  so  now  ?" 

"  In  my  opinion,  certainly  not ;  rather  go  without  it." 

In  the  absence  of  any  fixed  system  of  duties  and  com- 
pensations, the  action  of  the  Department  must  necessarily 
be  variable.  One  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  taking  a  large 
and  Hberal  view  of  the  law  under  which  the  Navy  is  paid, 
and  considering  that  all  pecuniary  gain  is  limited  by  that 
law,  will  make  allowances  to  the  extent  of  legal  author- 
ity ;  another,  influenced  by  principles  of  rigid  economy, 
will  restrict  all  compensation  to  the  narrowest  limit  which 
the  law  will  permit.  The  small  amount  which  can  be 
saved  to  the  government  by  any  restrictions,  annoying  as 
it  is  to  individuals,  would  be  more  cheerfully  submitted 
to  if  it  was  not  contrasted  with  the  large  amounts  which 
are  sometimes  taken  out  of  the  Treasury  for  the  advantage 
of  a  few  fortunate  individuals,  and  which  extravagances 
the  executive  can  not  control. 

In  these  unsettled  conditions  and  uncertain  competi- 
tions, a  large  amount  of  energy  is  lost  to  the  govcrament 
in  the  time  and  efforts  expended  in  the  protection  and 
maintenance  of  what  are  thought  rights — energies  and 
abilities  which  might  otherwise  be  expended  in  the  per- 
formance of  duties. 


534  IN      CUINA. 

Even  promotion  by  seniority  has  now  become  a  palsy- 
ing influence ;  the  flow  from  behind  is  greater  tlian  the 
outlet,  and  the  current,  instead  of  being  onward,  i^ests  in  a 
pool  of  stagnatiou. 

A  sudden  and  rugged  opening  was  recently  made,  and 
a  temporary  rush  took  place,  bearing  onward  a  crowd  of 
fresh  branches,  yet  in  their  verdure,  and  teaiing  up  some 
of  the  old  trunks  which  had  long  stood  upon  the  bank,  and 
overshadowed  the  waters  of  the  stream.  But  the  waters 
now  stand  again,  a  dead  sea,  and  its  influence  reaches  yet 
further  back  than  before.  Many  of  these  young  branches 
Know  that  they  have  brought  up  on  their  final  resting- 
place,  and  must  wither  without  further  progress ;  but  they 
may  rest. 

In  my  own  corps  things  are  worse.  When  the  law 
shut  do^Ti  and  limited  the  number  of  ofiicers  in  each 
corps,  the  surgeons  were  sixty-nine  in  number,  acciden- 
tally, I  believe,  there  being  an  mifiUed  vacancy  at  the 
time.  All  these  are  supposed  to  be  on  the  active  Hst.  In 
the  meantime  duties,  ships  and  stations  have  increased. 
There  are  seventy-six  captains,  and  one  hundred  and  six 
commanders  on  the  active  list ;  and  whenever  a  captain 
or  commander  is  wanting  for  duty,  with  but  few  excep- 
tions, a  surgeon  is  also  requii-ed.  Hence  the  chances  for 
rest  in  the  staff  and  hne  are  very  unequal.  But  besides 
these  captains  and  commanders  on  the  active  Ust,  there 
are,  of  both  grades,  forty-five  on  the  reserved  list ;  but  of 
the  small  number  of  surgeons,  none  are  reserved,  although 
some  have  been  in  the  service  forty  years  and  over,  and 
nearly  one  fourth  of  the  whole  number  are  unfit  for  duty. 
Now  it  would  seem  that  the  most  simple  and  practical 
mode  of  relief,  both  for  line  and  staff,  after  the  staff  has 
been  brought  up  to  fair  numbers,  would  be  a  limit  of 
age,  up  to  which,  an  oificer  should  have  done  his  full  share 
of  duty  in  every  grade  to  which  he  iss  eligible,  and  what- 


GETTING     ON.  635 

ever  fortunate  exceptions  there  may  be,  "  by  reason  of 
strength."  I  have  never  seen  the  man  over  fifty  years  of 
age  who  was  fit  for  ship-board  Hfe,  especially  for  herding 
in  mixed  and  forced  association.  His  mental  and  physi- 
cal faculties  may  be  good,  but  he  has  lost  the  plasticity  of 
adaptation  and  the  buoyancy  which  float  him  over  annoy- 
ances, or  bear  him  onward  to  meet  and  overcome  them. 
He  fits  the  night-cap  better  than  the  cocked  hat.  To 
my  friends  and  associates  of  the  San  Jacinto,  there  is  left, 
to  the  only  one  older  than  myself,  the  commander-in-chief, 
rest,  if  he  desires  it  in  the  honors  of  duties  fulfilled ;  to  the 
others,  some  sHght  hope  of  advancement  to  a  certain  de- 
gree ;  to  myself,  time-worn  and  weary,  the  same  corduroy 
road  which  I  have  trod  for  twenty  years  (when  I  reached 
my  present  grade),  through  the  plain  of  necessity,  but  more 
rugged  and  uneven  from  wear  and  neglect ;  and  my  case 
is  that  of  all  my  brethren. 

If  any  reader  has  had  the  perseverance  to  follow  me  thus 
far  in  my  wanderings,  he  will  see  that  at  the  close  of  1857, 
and  at  the  time  of  the  capture  of  Canton,  we  had  been 
two  years  and  two  months  away  from  the  United  States. 

When  we  left  there  a  cheery  idea  drifted  among  us 
that  our  cruise  was,  at  the  extent,  to  be  only  two  years 
from  home.  In  the  meantime  the  powers  under  which  we 
left  home  had  given  place  to  new  men  whose  purposes  we 
could  not  divine.  But  some  new  encouragement  was 
given  to  the  hopeful  prospect  of  a  shortened  exile.  Stay 
as  long  as  we  might,  we  did  but  do  an  accepted  duty  and 
had  no  right  to  complain  ;  but  a  duty  under  a  kind  and 
considerate  master  is  more  cheerily  and  more  efiiciently 
done  than  if  performed  under  an  exacting  task-master. 
We  had  now  been  on  the  station  over  two  years,  and  were 
then  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  year's  time  and  distance  from 
home.  Still  tliere  was  no  relief — disgust  and  despond- 
ency settled  upon  us  as  a  cloud. 


536  IN     CHINA. 

After  the  close  of  our  war,  the  comniarnler-hi-chief, 
broken  m  lioalth,  made  application  for  relief  in  his  flag 
ship,  stating  that  his  health  would  permit  no  arduous  over 
land  journey.  In  the  beginning  of  1858,  he  was  informed 
that  he  would  be  relieved  by  Flag-officer  Josiah  Tattnall, 
and  might  return  to  his  home  by  the  overland  route.  It 
was  a  hard  journey  for  an  old  and  disease-enfeebled  man. 
Some  thought  it  scarcely  compensated  for  by  the  high  en- 
comiums two  administrations  had  awarded  him. 

That  of  President  Pierce  had  written  him  by  the  then 
head  of  the  Navy  Department,  Mr.  Dobbin  : 

"  I  approve,  therefore,  of  the  course  pursued  by  you 
and  those  under  your  command.  The  brave  and  ener- 
getic manner  in  which  the  wrong  was  avenged,  is  worthy 
of  all  praise  ;  the  gallantly,  good  order  and  '  intelligent 
subordination'  displayed  by  all  engaged  in  the  various 
conflicts  with  the  enemy;  the  precision  and  admirable 
success  with  which  the  guns  were  managed,  were  highly 
creditable  to  the  service.  Be  pleased,  sir,  to  communi- 
cate to  the  officers,  seamen,  and  marines,  the  DejDartment's 
very  high  appreciation  of  their  good  conduct." 

And  the  following  appears  in  the  report  of  the  honor- 
able Secretary  of  the  Navy,  now  presiding  in  that  Depart- 
ment.    Alluding  to  the  East  India  squadron,  he  says: 

"The  duties  of  this  squadron  have  been  arduous,  and  the 
officers  and  men  attached  to  it  distinguished  themselves 
upon  a  memorable  occasion.  On  the  15th  of  November, 
1856,  as  one  of  the  boats  belonging  to  the  squadron  was 
passing  up  the  river  to  Canton,  with  the  American  flag 
fully  displayed,  it  was  several  times  fired  upon  by  the 
Barrier  forts,  endangering  the  lives  of  all  on  board.*  This 
outrage  was  promptly  resisted  and  redressed,  by  the  cap- 
ture and  destruction  of  the  forts  and  razing  the  walls  to 

*  It  may  be  added  to  this  that  another  boat  was  fired  upon  and  a 
man'3  head  carried  off. 


GETTING     OX.  537 

tbe  ground.  These  forts,  four  in  number,  commanding 
the  approach  to  Canton,  were  among  the  strongest  de- 
fenses of  the  empire,  mounting  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
six  guns.  The  prompt  and  decisive  course  pursued  by 
Commodore  Armstrong,  his  officers  and  men,  has  caused 
the  flag  of  the  United  States  to  be  respected  by  the  Chi- 
nese, contributed  largely  to  the  security  of  our  citizens 
in  China,  and,  during  the  trouble  which  followed,  has 
probably  been  the  means  of  saving  many  lives  and  much 
property." 

The  sloop-of-war  Levant,  which  sailed  after  the  San 
Jacinto,  had  already  been  relieved  and  started  for  home, 
and  the  Portsmouth,  which  sailed  months  after  the  San 
Jacinto,  followed  the  Levant  in  a  few  weeks ;  but  the  San 
Jacinto  remained,  with  the  cloud  thickening  about  her. 
There  were  undoubtedly  good  reasons  at  Washington  for 
these  proceedings,  but  it  was  the  misfortune  of  the  ten- 
ants of  the  San  Jacinto  not  to  see  them.  The  apathy  of 
"  hope  deferred"  settled  upon  the  ship.  It  may  be  thought 
that  the  increase  of  one  fom-th  pay,  paid  to  men  who  are 
detained  over  their  time  of  enlistment,  is  a  compensation 
for  that  detention.  Such  is  not  the  case.  The  sailor,  as 
every  other  man,  likes  to  have  a  word  to  say  in  the  dis- 
position of  his  rights  and  property,  and  not  to  have  it 
taken  from  him  at  the  arbitrary  estimate  of  one  party  to 
the  contract.  He  would  rather  have  his  discharge  than 
pay  for  detention.  He  ships  for  three  years  from  the 
time  he  signs  bis  name,  and  although  it  is  stipulated  that 
if  detained  he  shall  be  paid  an  additional  rate,  he  looks 
upon  that  as  a  chance  contingency  ;  wliereas  the  tail  has 
been  swallowing  the  body,  the  contingency  becoming  the 
whole  law. 

Officers  have,  of  course,  no  rights  of  this  kind,  but 
must  rest  entirely  upon  the  demands  of  service,  and  the 
justice  and  liberality  of  the  Department. 

23*" 


538  IN     CHINA. 

The  time  now  draws  near  for  taking  leave  of  the  shij) 
and  station.  The  next  overland  mail  was  to  leave  Hong 
Kong  on  the  29th  of  January,  1858.  Just  before  we 
started,  an  English  naval  captain  said  to  me,  "  What  a 
quiet  set  of  men  you  have  in  your  squadron."  I  was 
happy  to  reply,  "  A  quiet,  contented  and  subordinate  set 
of  men."  The  Commodore  and  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
had  complimented  them  upon  their  intelligent  subordi- 
nation." 

The  remark  of  the  EngUsh  caj^tain  reminded  me  of  a 
duty  I  owed  the  men  of  the  squadron  from  which  I  was 
about  to  part — the  humble  tribute  of  my  testimony  as  to 
its  character,  and  through  that  to  the  workings  of  the 
new  system  under  which  the  Navy  is  governed,  and  which 
must  be  carried  far  higher  and  much  wider  before  our 
service  is  properly  regulated  or  governed,  for  governed 
by  any  thing  but  principle  it  never  will  be,  and  beneath 
principle  aU  mere  selfish,  egotistical  tyranny  must  fall. 
Not  coming  under  this  harsh  designation,  but  as  a  part 
of  the  childish  tom-foolery  by  which  the  relations  of  men 
are  caricatured  and  their  manly  self-respect  lowered,  is 
what  is  called  oflicers  "  getting  permission  from  the  first 
lieutenant  to  leave  the  shijD."  "When  this  permission 
has  a  practical  value,  among  the  crew  and  youth,  may  be 
granted  or  denied,  it  is  all  right  and  proper  enough ;  but 
it  is  absui'd  when  men,  lieutenants  themselves,  the  asso- 
ciates, companions  and  mess-mates  of  the  first  lieuten- 
ant, aU  of  the  same  grade,  and  other  officers  his  seniors  in 
years,  and  sometimes  of  higher  rank,  go  like  school-boys 
and  say,  "  May  I  go  out  ?"  The  officers  who  ask  the 
permission  are  themselves  the  best,  and  sometimes  the 
only  judges  as  to  whether  their  duties  will  permit  them 
to  leave  the  ship,  and  knowing  this,  the  gentleman  acting 
as  first  lieutenant  never  takes  the  responsibility  of  refus- 
ing.    Some  officers  of  true  dignity  of  character  feel  the 


GKTTIXG     ON".  539 

absurdity  of  this  usage,  and  dispense  with  it  in  those 
cases  ill  which  it  has  no  practical  bearing ;  others  are  so 
much  wanting  in  self-respect,  and  need  so  much  support 
for  their  own  opinion  of  themselves,  as  to  receive  it  as 
a  tribute  to  personal  superiority,  and  reply,  "  Yes,"  or 
"  Certainly,  sir,"  with  as  much  self-complacency  as  though 
they  really  were  conferring  a  privilege.  The  reason  al- 
leged for  continuing  this  usage  is,  that  the  first  lieuten- 
ant knows  when  the  ship  is  going  to  be  in  those  circum- 
stances which  will  admit  of  officers  leaving  her.  He  may 
or  may  not.  But  tliis  reason  has  no  existence  when,  as 
is  generally  done,  the  time  in  which  the  privilege  of  leav- 
ing a  ship,  when  it  will  commence  and  when  it  will  close, 
is  announced,  be  it  so  many  hours,  days  or  weeks.  The 
other  lieutenants,  and  the  staff-officers  of  a  ship,  are  as 
trustworthy  in  the  use  of  this  privilege  as  their  associate, 
who  hajipens  to  be  first  lieutenant,  is,  and  are  more  un- 
der responsibility  and  obhgation  when  the  j)rivilege  is 
used  at  then*  discretion,  than  by  a  formal  permission.  . 

Even  the  British  service,  if  I  am  correctly  informed, 
has  made  a  progress,  in  the  disuse  of  this  nonsense,  ahead 
of  ours,  it  being  the  custom  in  some  shij^s,  at  the  discre- 
tion, I  suppose,  of  some  sensible  commanding  officer,  to 
have  a  slate  at  the  gangway,  at  such  times  as  the  ship 
can  be  left,  upon  which  the  officer  going  ashore  registers 
his  name,  erasing  it  upon  his  return. 

The  old  man  loves  the  memory  of  even  the  annoyances 
of  his  youth,  associated  as  they  are  with  a  hopeful  and 
joyous  period  of  his  life.  The  "  good  old  times"  never 
are  the  present,  and  much  of  the  trembling-toned  lament 
over  the  "old  discipUne"  of  the  service,  must  be  put 
down  to  this  lingering  look-l)ack  of  ago  upon  its  past 
youth.  There  may  be  some,  who  having  had  the  rough 
hand  of  despotism  upon  them,  think  they  are  not  even 
with  the  world  until  they  too  put  it  upon  some  one  else ; 


540  IN     CUINA. 

and  these  are  apt  to  decry  the  new  system  because  it  will 
not  make  tyranny  a  virtue. 

What  were  the  results  of  that  "  old  discipline  ?"  Some 
may  say,  "  Our  naval  victories."  They  were  associated 
with  it,  but  I  trust  had  their  basis  in  a  sohd  foundation 
of  national  courage,  and  wei'e  won  despite  of  the  "  old 
discipline,"  which  drove  many  a  brave  man  from  the  na- 
tional colors.  In  my  service,  of  a  generation's  existence, 
I  have  done  duty  in  one  navy  yard,  cruised  in  one  twelve- 
gun  schooner,  four  corvettes,  three  steamers  and  two  fi-ig- 
ates.  But  those  who  object  to  my  testimony,  may  say  I 
am  not  an  expert,  not  being  an  officer  of  the  Une,  In  all 
this  time  and  senice,  I  have  lived  under  military  author- 
ity, and  exercised  it,  and  have  faithfully  listened,  on  the 
first  Sunday  of  every  month,  when  in  a  sea-going  ship, 
with  uncovered  head,  to  the  solemn  absurdities  of  the 
"  articles  of  war."  Under  the  "  old  discipline"  the  ciy 
of  "  all  hands  to  witness  punishment,"  called  us  from  any 
hour  of  the  day-light  day,  to  leave  our  rooms,  avocations 
and  studies,  buckle  on  our  swords,  and  assemble  on  deck 
to  see  some  "  man"  stripped  and  flogged  with  cats  until 
the  blood  burst  from  his  livid  back,  while  the  crash  of  the 
colt  was  the  before-breakfast  settling  up  of  the  night's 
offenses. 

During  these  times,  men  never  went  ashore  but  in 
charge  of  and  watched  by  officers  of  boats — never  trusted 
to  their  self-respect.  Consequently  drunken  boats'  crews 
and  desertion  were  constant.  On  liberty,  our  crews  were 
the  terror  of  the  cities  in  which  they  held  their  orgies  and 
revels  ;  on  board  ship,  bottles,  belaying  pins  and  shot  have 
been  hurled  at  officers  as  they  passed  along  the  decks  in 
the  dark.  Whole  ships'  companies  have  mutinied,  and 
tricing  up  the  ladders  fi-om  one  deck  to  another,  cut  off 
all  approach  of  their  officers  until  their  giievanoes  were 
redressed. 


GETTING      ON.  541 

The  heart  and  soul  of  the  "  old  discipline"  passed  away 
with  the  "  cats."  A  more  cheery  and  genial  atmosphere 
per\'aded  our  men-of-war.  It  has  influenced  not  only  the 
government  of  the  crew,  but  also  that  of  the  ofiicers,  just 
as  a  bad  or  good  spirit  will  visit  itself  upon  others  than 
those  who  call  it  forth.  The  drum-head  court-martial  sys- 
tem died  out  early  in  our  ship  for  want  of  material  to 
constitute  the  courts.  There  were,  it  is  true,  the  chief 
engineer,  at  the  head  of  a  large  corps,  the  purser,  who 
had  been  over  ten  years  in  the  service,  and  myself,  who 
had  been  in  it  more  than  half  my  life  ;  but  Ave  were  not 
eligible  to  courts  martial  as  members — not  even  to  be 
represented  on  them  in  cases  in  which  we  were  ourselves 
parties,  and  the  question  one  of  principle,  upon  which 
those  composing  the  court  are  committed  by  prejudice 
and  interest  against  us.  Just  as  though  a  jury  of  violent 
j)artisans  were  to  decide  the  case  of  one  whose  principal 
offense  had  been  opposition  to  them.  Not  because  we 
are  wanting  in  honor,  judgment,  familiarity  with  the  laws 
and  usages  under  which  we  live,  and  an  equal  respect 
with  our  brother  officers  for  the  obligation  of  an  oath  ;  not 
because  of  these  are  we  excluded  from  the  commonest 
principles  of  justice  and  the  benefit  of  the  maxim  that 
every  man  should  be  tried  by  his  peers.  But  because  in 
those  days  when  ignorance  was  the  pride  of  the  soldier, 
and  ai-med  chiefs,  ignorant  of  penmanship  and  orthog- 
raphy, signed  their  names  by  pressing  their  ink-stained 
hands  upon  the  parchment — then,  when  merchants,  scribes, 
lawyers,  mechanics  and  publicans,  as  well  as  doctors,  were 
not  permitted  to  sit  upon  courts  alongside  of  these  same 
mailed  bandit  chiefs ;  because  of  this  usage  of  that  re- 
spectable age,  are  we,  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  and  in  a  republic  made  up  of  these  same  me- 
chanics, farmers,  scribes  and  publicans,  and  in  a  service 
composed  of  the  sous,  brothers  and  fathers  of  these  use- 


542  IN      CHINA, 

fill  members  of  the  community,  excluded  from  representa- 
tion on  the  juries  before  which  we  are  an  equal  party 
with  those  who  do  sit  as  both  judges  and  jurors.  So  once 
said  Attorney  General  Berrien  :  "  If  we  look  to  the  origin 
of  courts  martial  in  England  (from  whence  we  borrow 
them)  it  would  be  difficult  to  believe  that  a  tribunal 
which  has  succeeded  there  to  the  ancient  court  of  chiv- 
alry could  be  composed  of  other  thau  military  men." 

That  opinion,  it  is  true,  was  given  thirty  years  ago. 
Since  then  the  world  has  made  some  progress,  and  the 
courts  of  these  vulgar  United  States  may  be  made  better 
thau  courts  of  chivalry — courts  of  justice  despite  all  pre- 
cedents, even  were  it  possible  to  show  that  any  who  live 
under  and  are  amenable  to  military  law  are  not  mili- 
tary men. 

Whilst  our  service  has  been  holding  on  to  the  old  Lion's 
taU,  and  being  dragged  through  weed-grown  bogs  of  old 
usage,  he  has  taken  a  sudden  leap  over  the  ditch  of  selfish 
and  stupid  illiberality,  as  regards  medical  officers,  and  left 
us  plump  iu  it. 

The  queen,  by  a  recent  warrant,  has  divided  medical 
array  officers  into  seven  grades  of  rank,  as  lieutenants, 
captains,  majors,  lieutenant  colonels,  colonels,  brigadier 
generals  and  major  generals  ;  and  the  warrant  further 
provides  that  such  relative  rank  shall  carry  with  it  all  pre- 
cedents and  advantages  attaching  to  such  rank  with  which 
it  corresponds,  except  presidents  of  courts  martial. 

Commanding  officers  of  a  regiment  or  detachment, 
though  junior  in  rank  to  medical  officers,  shall  always  be 
entitled  to  first  choice  of  quarters.  Medical  officers  are 
to  be  entitled  to  the  same  honors  as  those  of  equal  rank, 
except  guards.  Pay  and  extra  allowances  are  largely 
increased.  All  medical  officers  retii-e  upon  a  liberal  pay 
lit  fifty-five  years  of  age,  except  deputy  inspectors  and  in- 
spectors ;  these  retire  at  sixty-five. 


GETTING     ON.  543 

So  it  appears  that  medical  officers  are  members  of  those 
courts  of  honor,  even  in  that  England  from  which,  accord- 
ing to  Judge  Berrien,  we  borrowed  them. 

But  the  courts  having  died  out,  the  external  display  ol 
any  visible  controlling  authority — any  thing  dramatic,  like 
public  executions,  were  never  seen  in  the  San  Jacinto. 
There  were  quiet  punishments,  but  they  were  all  within 
the  competency  of  the  executive  power  of  the  ship,  and 
yet  I  doubt  if  a  more  efficient,  subordinate,  well-disposed 
and  happy  crew,  barring  the  protracted  cruise,  have  ever 
been  in  a  public  vessel ;  and  this  is  not  only  my  own  testi- 
mony now,  but  the  frequent  conversational  tribute  of  the 
officers  of  the  line  who  were  in  constant  contact  with  the 
men  ;  and  both  Sir  John  Bowring  and  Admii-al  Seymour 
expressed  their  admiration  of  the  dejjortment  of  our  ship's 
companies  during  the  provisional  occupation  of  Canton.  It 
was  all  very  natural.  The  "  Damn  your  eyes,  tic  him  up 
and  flog  him"  system  of  the  "  old  discipline"  being  done 
away  with,  much  of  the  devil  went  out  of  the  ship,  fore 
and  aft,  Avith  his  traps  and  baggage,  and  gave  place  to 
agencies  of  a  higher  relation.  Much,  however,  is  to  be 
attributed  to  the  humane  and  just  character  of  the  com- 
manding officer,  Captain  Bell. 

Officers  became  more  conciliatory  and  just  in  their  ac- 
tion toward  the  men,  and  the  men  gave  a  higher  respect 
and  more  cheerful  obedience  to  their  officers.  Still,  the 
old  boy  has  not  carried  all  the  "  old  discipline"  overboard 
with  him,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the  unnecessarily  restricted 
right  of  visiting  the  shore. 

At  the  time  we  left  the  United  States,  the  supply  of 
midshipmen  had  been  exhausted,  and  neither  the  San 
Jacinto,  Portsmouth,  nor  Levant  had  any,  and  the  men 
were  necessarily  trusted  to  themselves  in  the  boats,  with- 
out any  one  to  watch,  to  irritate  and  annoy  them.  The 
results  were  so  favorable  that  it  excited  comment  and  re- 


544  IN     CHINA. 

mark  among  our  English  associates,  and  believing  it  to 
be  a  system  of  our  service,  they  expressed  a  wish  that  it 
could  be  adopted  in  theirs. 

At  length  came  the  29th  of  January,  1858,  and  Avith  it 
ended  my  relations  with  the  San  Jacinto  and  China,  The 
fine  steamer  Ottawa,  surrounded  by  boats,  and  pouring 
a  volume  of  smoke  from  her  pipe,  was  ready  for  her  de- 
parture on  the  homeward  trip  at  2  p.m.  At  11  a.  m. 
the  broad  pennant  of  Commodore  Armstrong  came  down 
with  a  parting  salute,  and  when  he  took  his  departui'e, 
the  ships  manned  their  yards  and  cheered  their  late  com- 
mander-in-chief. 

As  I  stepped  on  board  the  Ottawa,  there  was  a  wel- 
come of  home  in  the  very  name.  It  spoke  of  my  past 
wanderings  around  our  great  lakes.  There  it  would  have 
been  in  keeping,  but  what  had  our  western,  Indian,  sono- 
rous-sounding names  to  do  with  these  Asiatic  cruisings  ? 
The  boat,  like  myself,  was  a  Fankwei,  a  wanderer  from  the 
waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  It  seemed  almost  at  once 
to  transport  me  to  the  great  interests  of  our  new  world, 
and  the  grand  social  and  political  problems  there  being 
worked  out,  dwarfing  our  man-of-war  existence  and  in- 
terests, and  reducing  our  stormy  contests  to  tempests  in 
tea-pots.  One  wonders  that  he  has  ever  permitted  squab- 
bles and  heart-burnings  about  class  privileges,  artificial 
distinctions  and  rival  decorations,  which  have  no  relation 
to  the  noble  institutions  of  his  country,  and  only  a  ship- 
board importance,  to  lessen  his  true  manliness,  and  make 
him  almost  false  to  the  nobility  of  his  American  citizen- 
ship, and  he  sees  then,  with  respect  and  esteem,  the  wor- 
thy, noble  and  good  qualities  of  associates  which  may 
have  been  obscured  in  a  mist  of  artificial  and  oflicial  re- 
lationship. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  well  that  we  have  so  few  incentives 
to  "  getting  on"  in  the  ways  of  war  so  many  inducements 


GETTING     ON.  545 

to  remember  with  pride  that  we  are  citizens  of  a  country 
whose  grandest  influences  are  found  in  the  Avays  of  peace 
and  humanity,  and  to  which  we  return  and  cling  with 
strengthened  affection. 

With  the  saihug  of  the  Ottawa  ended  my  career  as  a 


FANK  WEI. 


LA    PLATA: 

THE  ARGENTINE  CONFEDERATION, 

AND 

PARAGUAY. 

Beino'  a  Narrative  of  the  Exploration  of  the  Tributaries  of  the  River 
La  Plata  and  Adjacent  Countries,  during  the  Years  1853,  '54,  '55, 
and  '56,  under  the  orders  of  the  United  States  Government. 

By  THOMAS  J.  PAGE,  U.S.K, 

Commander  of  the  Expedition. 

One  Volume  Large  Octavo,  with  Map  and  numerous  Illustrations. 
Muslin,  Three  Dollars. 

This  Volume  contains  the  Official  Narrative  of  one  of  the  most  important  ex- 
peditions ever  sent  out  by  our  Government.  Early  in  1S53  the  steamer  Water 
Witch  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Page,  with  instructions  to 
explore  the  Rivers  of  La  Plata,  and  report  upon  their  navigability  and  arlapta- 
tion  to  commerce.  Lieutenant  Page  executed  his  commission  with  rare  fidelity 
and  intelligence,  and  has  embodied  the  results  in  this  volume.  The  explora- 
tions described  in  the  Narrative  embrace  an  extent  of  3600  miles  of  river  naviga- 
tion, and  4400  miles  of  journey  by  land  in  Paraguay  and  the  Argentine  Confed- 
eration. The  River  Paraguay  alone  was  found  to  be  navigable,  at  low  water,  by 
a  steamer  drawing  nine  feet,  for  more  than  two  thousand  miles  from  tlie  ocean. 
The  basin  of  La  Plata  is  almost  equal  in  extent  to  that  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
not  inferior  in  salubrity  of  clliuate  and  fertility  of  soil,  while  the  head  waters  of 
Its  nvcrs  penetrate  the  richest  mineral  provinces  of  Brazil  and  Bolivia.  Tho 
products  of  this  region  must  find  their  outlet  through  the  River  La  Plata.  The 
population  numbers  scarcely  one  person  to  a  square  mile,  but  great  inducements 
to  emigration  are  now  offered  by  the  Argentine  Confederation.  The  commerce 
of  the  country,  already  considerable,  is  capable  of  immediate  and  almost  indef- 
inite increase. 

Lieutenant  Page's  Narrative  contains  ample  information  respecting  the  soil, 
climate,  and  productions  of  the  country,  and  the  manners,  habits,  and  cu.-toms  of 
the  people.  A  full  account  is  given  of  the  unfortunate  rupture  with  Paraguay, 
showing  conclusively  tliat  tlie  attack  upon  tho  Water  Witch  was  altogtthcr  un- 
warranted,  and  the  allegations  by  whicli  President  Lopez  attempted  to  ju.-tify  it 
entirely  destitute  of  truth.  An  interesting  and  valuable  account  of  the  Jesuit 
Missions  in  La  Plata  is  appended  to  the  Narrative. 

The  Illustrations  comprise  the  accurate  Map  of  tho  Country  prepared  by  the 
orders  of  our  Government,  Portraits  of  TTrquiza,  Lopez,  Francia,  and  Loyola, 
and  numerous  Engravings  of  Scenery,  Character,  and  Incident. 

Published  hy  HARPER  &  BROTHERS, 

Franhlin  Square,  Neiv  York. 


IIabfeb  &  Bbotrkes  will  send  the  above  Work  by  Mail,  postage  paid,  to  any 
part  of  the  United  States,  on  receipt  of  $3  00. 


"  The  most  magnificent  contribution  of  Uie  present  cen- 
tury to  the  cause  of  geographical  knovrledge." 

Dli.  BAETirS 
NORTH  .OD  CENTRAL  AFRICA. 


Travels  and  Discoveries  in  North  and  Central  Africa.      Being  a 

Journal  of  an    Expedition   undertaken  under  the  Auspices  of 

H.B.M's   Government   in    the   Years    1849-1855.      By   IIisnky 

Barth,  Ph.D.,  D.C.L.,  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Geographical  and 

Asiatic  Societies,  &c.,  &c.     Profusely  and  elegantly  illustrated. 

Complete  in  3  vols.  Svo,  Muslin,  $2  50  a  Volume;  Half  Calf, 

$10  50  a  set. 

Dr.  Earth's  wonderful  travels  approach  the  Equator  from  the  North  as  nearly 
as  Dr.  Livingstone's  from  the  South,  and  thus  show  to  future  travelers  the  field 
which  still  remains  open  for  exploration  and  research. — Vol.  III.,  completing 
the  work,  is  in  the  press,  and  will  be  published  shortly. 

The  researches  of  Dr.  Barth  are  of  the  highest  interest.  Few  men  have  ex- 
isted so  qualified,  botli  by  intellectual  .ability  and  a  vigorous  bodily  constitution, 
for  the  perilous  part  of  an  African  discoverer  as  Dr.  Barth. — London  Times, 
Sept.  S,  1S5T. 

It  riclily  merits  all  the  commendation  bestowed  upon  it  by  "the  leading  jour, 
nal  of  Europe."— Co;t.  National  Intelligencer. 

Every  chapter  presents  matter  of  more  original  interest  than  an  ordinary  vol- 
ume of'travels. — London  Leader. 

For  extent  and  varietj'  of  subjects,  the  volumes  before  us  greatly  surpass  every 
other  work  on  African  travel  with  which  it  has  been  our  fortune  to  meet. — Lon, 
don  Athenrmini. 

Dr.  Barth  is  the  model  of  an  cviiloror— patient,  persevering,  and  resolute. — 
London  Sj)ectator. 

No  one  who  wishes  to  know  Africa  can  afford  to  dispense  with  tiiiswnrl,-  -  ^Tims- 
ton  Traveler. 

A  most  wonderful  racoyA.—Poughkeepsie  Democrat. 

It  is  the  most  magnificent  contribution  of  the  present  century  to  the  cause  of 
geographical  knowledge. — A'.  1'.  Evangelist. 

The  most  important  contribution  to  Geographical  Science  that  has  been  made 
in  our  time.  Thousands  of  readers  in  our  countiy  will  be  anxious  to  get  poses- 
sion  of  this  treasure  of  knowledge. — X.  Y.  Observer. 

One  of  the  most  important  works  of  the  kind  which  has  appeared  for  an  age. — 
Lutlieran  Obsei-ver. 

It  can  not  fail  to  find  its  way  into  the  libraries  of  most  scholars. — Lynchburg 
Virginian. 

The  personal  details  give  the  work  great  interest. — Philadelphia  Press. 

Dr.  Earth's  work  is  a  magnificent  contribution  to  geographical  and  ethno- 
graphical science. — X.  V.  hidejjendent. 

Your  curiosity  is  awakened,  step  by  step,  as  with  diminished  resources  he 
works  his  way  through  fanatical  and  rapacious  tribes,  ready  in  resources  and 
never  desponding,  and  buoyed  up  by  the  unconquerable  desire  to  surpass  his 
predecessors  in  the  thoroughness  and  in  the  range  of  his  discoveries. — Albion. 

Among  the  most  wonderful  achievements  of  modern  times. — Western  Christian 
Advocate. 

A  most  valuable  contribution  to  the  standard  literature  of  the  world. — Troy 
Times. 

Published  by  HARPER    &    BROTHERS, 

Franklin   Square,  Ne-w  York. 


•  ,*  Harpke  &  Beothebs  will  send  the  above  "Wort  by  Mail,  postage  paid  (for 
any  distance  in  the  United  States  under  3000  miles),  on  receipt  of  the  Money. 


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